History in the Shadows
by Quizmo
Summary: The adventures of Super Paper Mario aren't over yet! Mario and friends discover a secret society descended from the Ancients as Dimentio creates a plan to do the impossible-escape death. Written with the same action, humor and themes as the popular game.
1. The Prognosticus of Fate

_Ahem! Today…I'll tell you the story of the author of the lost book of prophecies. This prophetic book was a mysterious tome full of stories of future events. Of course, many people craved this book, wishing to glimpse their futures. But no person, after obtaining this book, ever found happiness. The reason? The book held frightful secrets not meant for people's eyes. The book prophesized the end of all worlds, and the very author of this dark book almost made it come to be. But in the end, a group of noble heroes used the Light Prognosticus and the power of love to stop him. This is the tale of that forgotten book's creator and the heroes who stopped him…_

At last, the universe was saved from Dimentio and the Chaos Heart. When Blumiere was wed to Timpani and they vanished into Oblivion, all worlds returned to normalcy. The Void was gone (as well as its tremors), but the places it had destroyed were restored. Love conquered the chaos of hatred, and the Heroes that wielded love's power were now in Flipside. After their endless journey, Merlon brought them to the Sweet Smiles Café to relax. Mario, Peach, Bowser, Luigi, O'Chunks, Mimi, Nastasia, Merlon, Nolrem and all 11 pixls were in their group. Merlon, who was not there at the final battle, asked,

"So Dimentio was the true Dark One of the Dark Prognosticus? And not Count Bleck?" The three previous minions of Count Bleck said,

"Dimentio juss stabbed 'im in 'is back!"

"He attempted to shoot an energy sphere at Count Bleck when he was down, but I took it for him."

"What Dimentio did was NOT cool!" Nolrem said,

"Well, Dimentio is in The Underwhere now, so we have nothing to worry about! Thank you all for saving our worlds and stopping the Dark Prognosticus from ever becoming realized." Bowser said,

"Yeah, we DID save your butts, didn't we? Don't we get some kind of a reward? Mario, you get something when you stop my evil plans, right?" Peach answered,

"Well…a cake, usually."

"…That's it? He saves your life, and you give him a _cake_? You're a princess; you must be loaded!" The Princess was running out of excuses, so Luigi said,

"Heroes aren't about the rewards! I mean, I got a book series off of my adventure a few years back. And a movie. And adoring fans. But it's not about that!"

"Fine…" Merlon interrupted,

"Anyway, you saved the universe, and that should be satisfying enough for anyone! That Void is gone, and there is nothing more to worry about!" Bowser corrected,

"Actually, there is _one _thing we still need to worry about - home! How are me, Mario, Peach and Green Stache supposed to get back to the Mushroom Kingdom?"

Everyone there realized that Bowser was right for once. The Heroes of Light had forgotten all about where they had come from, and the other heroes there didn't want them to leave. Peach said,

"Oh, yeah, Bowser's right! I bet Toadsworth is worried sick about me!" Bowser added,

"And what about my minions that Bleck _didn't_ brainwash! They're still at my castle unsupervised! Junior and the Koopalings can't run a goodcastle by themselves! My finest can't even stop a stupid Yoshi!" Merlon said grimly,

"It appears you are right…and none of the dimensions you traveled to are connected to Earth?"

The heroes all shook their heads no, but a classic exclamation mark appeared above Mario's head. Mario told Merlon something, who repeated aloud,

"Queen Jaydes take you back home? …Well, if anyone could break the dimensional bond separating our worlds, it would be her! Let's head towards the Flipside Tower, then!"

The heroes were about to set off for the Underwhere when Saffron stopped them.

She went to the table of heroes with a Saffron Special Galactic Meal in-hand. She gave it to them, saying,

"This one's for saving Flipside!"

Bowser and O'Chunks looked as the gigantic meal with wide eyes and a wider stomach. Bowser said,

"Finally, the feast we deserve! If your cakes are this size, I take back everything I said!"

And within ten seconds, the mighty galactic beast was vanquished, Bowser putting his claw on his belly. The Koopa King could only manage to say,

"I could be a hero every now and then!" Merlon turned to Saffron in his chair and asked,

"Can I try my hand at your famous dish a second time?" Saffron responded flatly,

"Merlon, you had your chance. Only those that can best the galactic dish can marry me. Besides, it cost me 300 coins just to make that!" Bowser said,

"And it was worth it!"

Merlon turned to Bowser who had finished the galactic meal and then back to Saffron. He asked,

"ANYONE who can finish that dish can marry you?" Saffron responded after looking back at Bowser,

"…Er, never mind."

Saffron returned to her pots and pans while Peach and Mimi turned to Merlon. Peach asked,

"Wait, **you** tried to marry** Saffron**?" Merlon admitted,

"Yes, I did. I asked her for her hand in marriage, but she told me that I had to eat one of her famous Saffron Special Galactic Dishes. Alas, there was but a twig of parsley left when an injured Timpani teleported into our fair town. I saw her collapse of exhaustion, and I rushed out to help her. She had been walking for years under some strange curse a chief had put on her. She tried to explain what had happened, but her voice was muffled…anyways, I saved that girl by turning her into Tippi. If she came just five seconds later, Saffron and I would have been betrothed." Mimi said,

"So anyone who could eat the meal could marry her?" She looked over at a distracted Bowser and giggled,

"_Great _plan alright!" She looked over at Luigi and continued,

"I'd personally go with someone tall, but skinnier than that koopa…but plumbing, GROSS!"

"Well, I am unmarried, and it shall probably stay that way. I am too old to be getting married now." Suddenly, an exclamation mark went above Bowser as he yelled,

"PEACH, BABY!"

The room went silent until Peach regained her thoughts. Then, she echoed back,

"BABY?"

"Yeah, Peach honey! Don't you remember – we're still married!"

"…Wh-what?"

"Yeah! We got married at the start of this Pure Heart thingy…and we still are!"

Peach took Dashell and dashed out of the Café. Bowser chased after her, followed by **all** of the other heroes and pixls. Saffron looked at them in confusion and yelled,

"So I'm making another 300-coin dish for nothing?"

Peach ran as far away from her freak husband as she could. They chased her to the Flipside Tower above the town and continued on. Thoreau stole Dashell from the princess and she was slowed down to the point of being caught. Then, Thoreau stole her, and Peach was put by the others.

"But Peachy, baby-"

"Don't 'Peach baby' me! We are NOT married!"

"Yes we are! We got married to make that Chaos Heart thingy and we went straight to the adventure!"

Peach tried to come up with a comeback, but ended up just glaring at Nastasia, who caused their marriage. Nastasia hid behind O'Chunks. Peach sighed and said,

"Fine, you're right. We're married." Bowser smiled, until she yelled,

"BUT ONCE WE GET BACK HOME, WE ARE GETTING A DIVORCE, MISTER!"

"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that! Junior and the Koopalings are great…most of the time! You'll like it!"

"Junior…and the seven Koopalings? Your child and adopted children?"

"Yep! You know what that means – you're a mommy!" Peach burst out sobbing.

"I can't have EIGHT children!"

"Hey, it's not so bad!"

"EIGHT children!"

"C'mon, you'll never even see the Koopalings around! No one does anymore!"

While the married couple was bickering, Mario thought he saw something glowing above them. When he looked up, he saw a dimensional ridge suspending in midair…the kind that Fleep could flip. Mario commanded Fleep to use his special abilities on it, and when the pixl did, a tiny dot appeared. Once Dottie made this dot grow larger, Mario realized that it was a small portal. The non-married heroes looked at this portal, and Merlon gasped,

"How did that portal get there?"

Merlon looked at Fleep, and then at Mario. Merlon asked the plumber,

"Mario…when Tippi brought you here from Bowser's Castle, back in your dimension…do you remember _exactly_ where you teleported in from?" Mario thought, and then pointed up at the portal.

"Hmm…you teleported here from Bowser's Castle, correct? If you teleported to that spot from Bowser's Castle…then this portal should take you back there!"

Bowser and Peach stopped yelling at the first signs of going home. Bowser said,

"We're going to our home universe at long last…and right at my castle, too? Now _that's _direct service!" Peach said gleefully,

"We're finally going home!"

The four Heroes of Light held big grins, but the others were not. A puzzled Peach asked,

"Mimi, what's wrong?"

"Well…you're going home now! We won't ever see you again!"

"Oh…well, you can come to my divorce if you want-"

"You mean honeymoon!"

"Be quiet, Bowser!"

"Sorry…"

"…So, anyway, you can come with us if you want to. Bowser and I are going to get divorced in a chapel in Marrymore, the most romantic place I know. That place is so romantic, even Mario and Bowser kissed there!"

Mario and Bowser turned away blushing as their new friends thought of going. O'Chunks, Mimi and Nastasia decided to accompany the others, to be with them one last time. And to see why Mario and Bowser kissed, of course. Peach would've forced Nastasia to go anyway, just in case Bowser refused to take back his "I Do". The previous assistants of Count Bleck said,

"Sure, we'll totally come with you guys!"

"Juss for dat divorce, mind ye."

"It'll fit into my schedule. I have plenty of time now…" Mario invited the two wizards, but Merlon said,

"I don't think that you want Nolrem and I to accompany you. The walk there would be too strenuous, and the walk back even worse…"

"Aw, c'mon, Merlon! When you walk home, you'll be with me, O'Chunks and Nastasia! It'll be totally safe!"

"No, you don't need us. The seven of you-and eleven of you pixls-can go have fun, but we'll stay here."

The heroes agreed with Merlon, and realized that this would be the last time they saw each other. The four Heroes of Light said their good-byes to the wizards who had helped them time after time on their adventure. Luigi Spring-Jumped the heroes into the suspended portal (the pixls accompanying them), wishing the two extraordinary wizards farewell. While the wizards remained in Flipside, the seven heroes and eleven pixls arrived inside of Bowser's Castle. It was just as gloomy and evil-looking as it had always been. Bowser said,

"Home sweet home! Minions! Report to the main foyer!"

No response. Bowser tried to find any minions that survived through Count Bleck. Only two Goombas, a Paratroopa and a Magikoopa were left. They came out to see their angry master's return, who yelled,

"These are the only four I have left? How did you four survive, anyway?"

"I ran outside the gate just in time!"

"I was sick and didn't go to the meeting!"

"I was patrolling the backyard!"

"I was sleeping in!"

"Well, no matter how you guys escaped, I'm glad to see someone else running the castle!" The Magikoopa said,

"We didn't run the castle."

"Then who did?"

Just then, a grumpy Kammy Koopa flew in the castle hall and exclamation marked when she saw Bowser. She fell off of her broom, holding onto her aching side upon the fall. She huffed,

"King…King Bowser! How are you here? Er, where did you go? Why did you leave?"

"Well, I-"

"HOW COULD YOU? I went out for some dewrinkilizer cream and came back to find the entire castle abandoned! Only four minions were left, since Junior and the Koopalings claimed their own castles! They're not as nice as your castle, of course. It was nice having the place to myself, though. I got to relax in the hot tub for two hours without anyone needing me! There isn't a hot tub at Ludwig von Koopa's castle! It's not even broomstick accessible!" -By the way, the heroes were very well asleep at this time- "I even went to the Broom Shop and fixed up my ride! I also bought it a new…HEY!" Bowser awakened and said,

"Wh-what? Oh, cool story, Kammy. Anyway, me and Peach got married!" Peach glared at Bowser and palmed her forehead while Kammy Koopa asked,

"…How'd you manage that, by finding the Star Rod again?"

"What, you don't think my charm could've done it alone?"

"Why of course not, your Casanovaness!" Nastasia explained,

"Well, my original master ordered me to brainwash them into marriage." Kammy said,

"…Okay, that'd explain a lot." Peach added right away,

"And we're getting a divorce as soon as we reach Marrymore Chapel!" Kammy told Bowser,

"Oh. Better luck next time, your Patheticness. Marrymore is about an hour's journey southeast of here, actually! Just keep going until you reach Blood Swamp, and then go northeast. Pick me up a Taki Mushroom while you're at it - I hear Taki Soup helps the old back!" Peach was getting impatient at the servant and snapped at Bowser.

"I know that you're happy to see your little army again, but we need to be heading towards Marrymore! So good-bye, Kammy Koopa!" One Goomba said,

"Bye Princess Peach!"

Bowser roasted the Goomba before the king koopa was dragged away by Peach to the area outside. Kammy Koopa called after them,

"I'll hire some new minions for you while you're getting divorced! These minions will be better than your old ones – I'm thinking Hyper Goombas!"

The group of heroes and pixls walked along the rocky trail to the forest beyond it. A moat of lava was oozing beneath them, the rocky trail being the only thing connecting the castle to the rest of the forest. Carrie had to carry Peach over it to put her at ease. Mario had to carry Luigi.

After they stepped off of the narrow path, they walked into the Ancient Forest surrounding the area. Grim-looking trees decorated the land as the wind rustled through the blood-red leaves. Luigi saw a ghost-like shadow flickering through the trees and rushing away. The green plumber panicked while the red plumber grew bored at the familiar scenery. Mimi asked Bowser,

"Did you have to choose a place this scary?" Bowser said,

"That's exactly **why** I chose this place! Scary forests are a MUST for final levels!" Peach said,

"Let's just hurry up and find the Marrymore chapel…"

"What's wrong, honey? Can't handle a few Piders?" Peach and Mimi chorused,

"Piders?"

Bowser and O'Chunks laughed at the two girls while Nastasia decided to schedule the divorcing procedure. First, the organized Nastasia called the manager of Marrymore Chapel (who was even more business-oriented than her), and set a time up for the divorce. But there had to be guests. So, Nastasia called up _Queen_ Toadstool and said,

"Yello, Queen Toadstool? … Nastasia, but you don't know me. I'm calling to inform you that your daughter Peach is having her divorce at Marrymore Chapel at 3:00 today. … You didn't know she was married?" -Much yelling on the other end of the line- "Yeah, she got married to King Bowser." -WAY more yelling this time- "How? Well…I sorta brainwashed her-" -Crows flying away from the noise emanating from the phone- "Sorry bout that. So, in a few hours. … Marrymore Chapel, K? G'bye."

Nastasia ended the call with a worried expression on her face. She figured that Kammy Koopa was inviting Bowser's family over, so Nastasia didn't call Junior (there was no way to contact him, anyway). She caught up with the other heroes, Peach and Bowser bickering some more.

Those seven heroes and eleven pixls walked for hours, following Kammy Koopa's directions. Eventually, thanks to her advice (surprisingly the advice was accurate), they stumbled upon the town of Marrymore. With Peach happily crying and Bowser painfully sighing, they went inside the Marrymore Chapel.

The chapel was dazzling. Gold and crystal lined every wall, and silk carpet lined the entire floor. There were two rows of benches going from the back to a stage up front. This stage held the preacher's podium and a smaller bench on each side. The crowned jewel of the Marrymore Chapel, however, was above the stage - a giant stained glass window. This giant window stood proud over the podium, reflecting the sunlight onto it and the two lovebirds that would be wed (but not in this case). The manager of this chapel learned the story of the Void and how it was just destroyed, so the stained glass window was molded to depict none other than Count Bleck and Tippi. Finding their pictures was a pain, but the tribute was very fitting. Nastasia looked at the glass portrait of Count Bleck and thought about what would happen if he never left her. Peach said in astonishment,

"Count Bleck and Tippi? Wow…this place takes my breath away! It was such a magical time when I was here before!" Bowser asked,

"_Magical_? You were being held hostage by a raving lunatic with a giant beard and three servants with gas masks!"

"It was still magical! And it's magical now!"

At least it would have been if the princess's family hadn't have just entered the chapel. Nastasia closed the door behind the entire family as Queen Toadstool singled out her daughter. The Queen went to Peach scolding,

"Peach Francine Toadstool!" Mario and Luigi snickered. "I cannot believe that you got married to that…that VILE creature!" Bowser yelled,

"I'm standing right here!" King Toadstool strolled in and jokingly suggested,

"Maybe after all those time of capturing Peachy, Bowser finally captured her heart!"

"Dad!"

Just then, the family of Bowser walked into the chapel. Kammy Koopa, the seven Koopalings, Junior and _five_ minions (Kammy already found one Koopa to join!) went to Bowser cheering. Junior and the Koopalings hugged Bowser as Peach's father said,

"Eight kids already? That was faster than I expected!"

"Dad!"

Nastasia went to close the door a second time, but an irate Toadsworth stormed inside. The disgruntled brown Toad went to the Princess, cut right in front of the queen and yelled,

"Princess Francine Toadstool!" Mario and Luigi snickered again. "Queen Toadstool called me and told me what you did! …How COULD you? Why did you marry that despicable King Koopa, who may I remind you, has terrorized your people time and time again?" Bowser said,

"Again, right here!" Peach sighed and said,

"I'm sorry Toadsworth, but I was brainwashed!"

"That's what they all say! And going in between dimensions? You could have…you could have vanished or something!" Toadstool said flatly,

"Being married to Bowser is worse than that."

Toadsworth went to a bench in a frustrated huff along with the other families. Nastasia called,

"Um, yeah, the divorce is scheduled to be at 3:00, and it is now…3:00. So everyone, take your seats. Mrs. Toadstool and Mr. Koopa, stand in front of the podium, K?"

Peach and Bowser took their place on the chapel stage on either side of the podium. Mario and O'Chunks sat on one of the stage benches while Luigi and Mimi sat on the other. Toadstool's family sat on one side of the chapel benches (along with the still-infuriated Toadsworth) while Bowser's family sat on the other. The pixls floated amongst them. Nastasia stood behind the podium and said,

"We are gathered here today to separate the two standing before you, K? Okay. Peach, do you promise to divorce Bowser and hate him until your game ends?" She responded,

"I think the answer is obvious." Nastasia continued,

"And Bowser, do you promise to divorce Peach and hate her until your game ends?" He responded,

"…You're gonna brainwash me if I don't, so…I guess." Nastasia concluded,

"Unless anyone here has any reason why these two should be wed, the two of you are now…oh, you two sign here, please…officially separated."

Peach's family burst into applause while Bowser's family booed. O'Chunks starting sobbing on Mario. He cried,

"I **'ate** a sad endin!" Mario felt awkward as O'Chunks leaned on his shoulder. Mimi told Luigi on the other side of the stage,

"When I get married, it won't end in divorce. It'll totally be with the person I love."

Luigi felt awkward as Mimi leaned onto his shoulder. Peach cut the cake baked by Toadsworth in celebration, although it didn't taste like her cake at all. Just then, the door opened a third time – and in came Merlon and Nolrem. Merlon was holding onto the Light Prognosticus and Nolrem was holding onto the Dark Prognosticus. The Heroes went to the two wizards and O'Chunks said (wiping the tears from his eyes first),

"Merlon? Nolrem? What er YOU doin 'ere? How did ya get 'ere? And whif the Dark Prognosticus?" Nolrem explained,

"Merlon's crystal ball helped us find our way here easily! But we are here because I have found the Dark Prognosticus in Castle Bleck!" King Toadstool said sarcastically,

"Yey, a book…" Peach asked,

"So why do you want the Dark Prognosticus? I thought it was evil!" Merlon said,

"It IS evil, but very important, my dear!" King Toadstool teased,

"See, Peachy? Five seconds after your divorce and men are calling you 'dear'!" After Peach smacked her father, Nolrem continued,

"The history in this dark book is needed for those in the future! Merlon and I are going to research these two tomes and write a single book about them-together!" Merlon concluded,

"The Prognosticus of Fate. The people of the future need to know what really happened. The Prognosticus of Fate shall be written for historians in that future, and will contain the truths and myths of both tomes! This book will tell your story and how the Light Prognosticus came to be right in the end!" Mimi said,

"Wow, that sounds cool!" Merlon said,

"Yes it is, Mimi! We finally have both books in our possession!"

_"That's where I come in, Slick!" _

Just then, a figure flew in through the stained glass window, shattering it completely. It landed on the podium as sharp glass covered the entire stage. Nastasia was the only one still on the stage (as she was organizing the divorce papers), and she froze in place to avoid the glass. Everyone looked confused, but Mario recognized the figure. It said,

"The name's Doopliss. Don't wear it out." Merlon asked,

"What in blazes is THAT thing?" Luigi said,

"Hey, I recognize you! You played Mario in the staged version of Paper Mario and me in Paper Luigi!" Doopliss asked,

"Oh, you're Luigi? We finally get to meet in person!" Nastasia yelled at Doopliss from right behind him.

"You could have ruined the ENTIRE divorce procedure! That is NOT professional!" Bowser thought to himself,

"Why didn't he do that _before _the divorce?"

Doopliss flew up high in the air and charged at the black and blue wizard duo. The ghost knocked the sages over, and their books flew into the air. Doopliss caught both of the tomes and landed back down on the wizards. He said slyly,

"That was easy enough!" Nolrem leaned up as much as he could and yelled,

"Save the books!"

Doopliss stomped on Nolrem's face, and his head fell back down. King Toadstool said from his bench up front,

"That has GOTTA hurt!" Bowser yelled,

"Hey, ghost freak! You can't burst in here and ruin the divorce AFTER it happened!"

Bowser breathed fire at the ghost, but he flew over Bowser, landing in between O'Chunks and Mimi. Merlon and Nolrem yelled upon being accidentally roasted. Bowser never really thought ahead. O'Chunks said,

"Maybe that load o fluff can't stop yeh, but **I **can!"

O'Chunks went to grab Doopliss, but Doopliss dodged him and copied him. The real O'Chunks yelled,

"Ey! Mimi, quit doin dat!" Mimi, still in her girl form, said,

"That's not me! This ghosty thing must be a shape-shifter, too!"

Before Mimi could continue, the Doopliss O'Chunks grabbed her and threw her around the room with his right arm. His other arm held onto the Light and Dark Prognosticus. Mimi was ricocheting everywhere, knocking over Toadsworth and King Toadstool, even though they both deserved it. Thoreau caught Mimi before she flew out of the broken window. Doopliss O'Chunks then did an O'Chunks victory dance while the real one asked,

"Dew I really dance like dat?" Doopliss returned to his normal form and said,

"Well, I really have to get going now! My master needs these books!"

Doopliss flew towards the broken window, but Mario and Luigi chased after the ghost. They used Dashell to get under him and Mario jumped up to reach him. Mario had no luck though, since Doopliss was so high in the air. Luigi called Carrie over and he glided across the glassy stage, preparing for a Super Jump. When Luigi jumped, Doopliss was knocked right back to Merlon with the two books. Merlon and Nolrem grabbed the Light and Dark Prognosticus respectively, and looked down at the KOed ghost. Mimi said,

"Good job, Luigi!" Peach called,

"Mario, get over here!"

Luigi landed on Carrie, took Nastasia (who had climbed onto the podium for safety away from the glass), and went back towards the other heroes. After they all stood by Doopliss, O'Chunks stuttered,

"…Well THAT was somefin' yeh dent see every day!" Mimi asked,

"Who WAS that freak?" Doopliss regained consciousness, stood up and whined,

"My name's DOOPLISS!"

In that moment of shock, Doopliss stole the Light Prognosticus from Merlon and flew towards the broken window. The ghost tackled Dashell and Carrie so that they could not be of use. Doopliss landed on the windowsill and said,

"Ciao!"

With the Light Prognosticus, Doopliss flew away and went out of sight. Merlon yelled,

"The Light Prognosticus! I need that I order to write the Prognosticus of Fate!" In a moment of silence, Merlon and Nolrem turned towards Mario. Bowser yelled,

"Oh no, don't tell me we're gonna have to hunt down that freak-in-a-sheet!" Merlon said,

"But I need to research the Light Prognosticus further! Without both books, we cannot do the proper research to write the Prognosticus of Fate!" Bowser asked,

"Can't you just do it from memory or something?"

"No, I can't! Think of the people in the future! They need our book! I know that you heroes are exhausted from your previous adventure, but this is very important." Toadsworth scoffed,

"More important than the safety of the princess?"

Nolrem hit Toadsworth in the head with the Dark Prognosticus, something Mario had wanted to do for years. The heroes looked at each other and Peach asked,

"Another adventure already?" Mimi said,

"At least we get to work together! The Heroes of Light, the pixls, O'Chunks and me!" O'Chunks said,

"I'll make up fer what Bowser be short of!" Bowser grinned at O'Chunks and boomed,

"Yeah right, O'Chunky!"

The two brutes glared at each other and ran to the glass-stained stage, followed by the other heroes. Mario and Luigi jumped off of the podium to reach the windowsill avoiding the glass, the pixls following them. Peach uses her parasol to reach the podium and Mimi copied Peach in order to use her parasol powers. Bowser and O'Chunks looked at the glass, and then burst through the wall left of it. Merlon and Nolrem say good-bye to Nastasia, and the wizards went out the front door to return home. The families of the newly divorced looked at Nastasia, who said,

"Well, thank you for attending. A gift bag will be arriving in the mail for all of you, so, um…yeah, you're gonna have to leave now."

The crowd of families left the chapel, leaving Nastasia alone in the chapel. She said to herself,

"I hope they find him…"

Then, Nastasia looked over at the broken bits of glass covering the stage. She found a large piece of the stained glass that had the head of Count Bleck on it. She looked at the shard longingly and said,

"I better clean up the shattered pieces of Count Bleck – er, Blumiere."

Nastasia dropped the large piece of glass, breaking it even further. She sighed and grabbed a broom to clean up the shattered pieces of her lost love.


	2. A New Mission

"Wh-where am I?"

He awoke from his dizziness to find himself surrounded by unusual scenery. Dark gloomy trees were scattered in the background, and even the _grass_ felt cold and lifeless. This man realized that he truly was surrounded by the lifeless, not just the foliage around him. Dimentio was in The Underwhere.

"The Underwhere…? Well, I _was _just killed, I suppose. But now, the shadow of my power I left behind, Shadimentio, will come into play! Shadimentio will use the Chaos Heart to destroy all things, like a meteorite striking at a child's playground! My millenniums-old plan will prevail in just a few short minutes!" Dimentio looked at his gloomy surroundings.

"Not exactly the perfect place for celebration. But I _will _have my own perfect universe to celebrate in soon enough!"

"Hey you there!" Just then, a tiny troupe of D-Men walked over to Dimentio. The lead D-Men informed him,

"All those who have depleted their extra lives must report to Queen Jaydes immediately! We can take you to her." Dimentio asked,

"Don't you know who I am?"

"Of course we know who you are! You nearly destroyed all worlds in the universe! Come with us!"

"Alright, fine. Queen Jaydes deserves a visit for all of her hard work…" The D-Men escorted Dimentio to the royal Queen Jaydes as Dimentio said,

"I may be dead, but my plan lives on!"

"No talking, Dimentio!"

"My shadowy clone, Shadimentio, still wields the Chaos Heart!"

"Shut up!"

"In a few moments, The Void will devour all worlds and the universe shall be as I desire!"

"Can't you give us just _five _minutes to gloat?"

By then, the D-Men and Dimentio reached the Queen Jaydes Temple. Queen Jaydes exclamation marked when he saw the evil jester, and her minions bowed in her presence. The queen asked,

"Dimentio! So, the Heroes of Light finally killed you?" Dimentio responded,

"As a matter of fact, they did."

"As predicted in the Light Prognosticus. The one your brother wrote as part of your evil plan? Even though the Light Prognosticus was written to be part of your evil scheme, it ended up being truthful – and now you're here."

"Speaking of my brothers, where are they? They must be here somewhere-there's nowhere to go after death."

"Merloo and Marloo are rotting in the Labyrinth of Eternity, the worst place in all of existence."

Queen Jaydes was right. The Labyrinth of Eternity is the true Hell, a prison for those too evil to belong in the Underwhere. This prison strips its inhabitants of all physical and magical powers. So you can't prevent the pain. Dimentio knew of this place from the folklore he studied long ago, and had a fear that his brothers were sent there after they died. He was right. Queen Jaydes continued,

"Your brothers, Bonechill and a few others are trapped there…as is the Pixl Queen."

"The Pixl Queen that I killed?"

"The very same. Didn't your brother Marloo create her after stealing your Dark Prognosticus? And becoming insane right after reading it?"

"Marloo was upset when I found out that the Man in Red had to be an actual hero and he couldn't be in my master plan. Also, he was jealous of Merloo because he could still be the Man in Green…at least until their death."

"Speaking of Merloo, didn't he become insane as well? Too bad. At least you'll get to see your insane brothers again once I send you to the Labyrinth of Eternity!"

"You are right, my Queen. I _will_ get to see them again…once the Void devours all worlds!" Queen Jaydes looked at Dimentio with terror in her eyes and yelled,

"The Void is still growing? But you're dead!" Dimentio assured her,

"It's almost fully grown! In just a few seconds, the Void will devour all things, like a monster truck at a clown car rally!"

"You can't destroy all worlds…you'll be killing every being in existence! And I have to weigh the sins of every last one! My schedule's already full as it is! I just finished judging the Sammer Guys and I'm in the middle of judging the Floro Sprouts!"

"The small price you will have to pay to create my perfect universe! By the way, my brothers and the Floro Sapiens are coming with me-I promised King Croacus the First that I would bring the Floro Sapiens to paradise if he gave me some Floro Sprouts. At least you won't have to judge the flowers!"

"_Real _helpful, Dimentio. When will the Void end all life?"

"In just a few seconds. The-"

Before Dimentio could finish his sentence, a loud, boasting sound was in the air. It was the sound of bells, ringing through the entire afterlife. Dimentio asked,

"What is that noise?" Queen Jaydes answered, though still as confused as him,

"It sounds like bells…wedding bells!" The bells continued to ring. Jaydes said,

"It's the magic of a wedding…the magic of true love!" Dimentio gasped,

"The Pure Hearts!"

As suddenly as the ringing noises sounded, a blinding flash of white light covered The Underwhere. Not just the afterlife, but the universe of the living as well. This light could only mean one thing, and Queen Jaydes started to grin. She said smugly,

"Dimentio, I think your plan just failed!" Dimentio asked (to both Jaydes and himself),

"But how? Shadimentio was supposed to wield the Chaos Heart!"

"I guess love stopped Shadimentio."

After Queen Jaydes said that, some of the Shaydes civilians started to vanish. A fair few of them disappeared before their eyes. Dimentio said,

"I think that the blinding light is returning all things to normal. In other words, those destroyed by The Void are getting an automatic continue."

"Wait…ALL of them? I just judged 100 Sammer Guys and now they're going _back? _Not to mention the Cragnons and Floro Sapiens!" Queen Jaydes was becoming furious with Dimentio, but she remembered the Labyrinth of Eternity from their conversation before. She yelled,

"That's it! Dimentio, for the crimes of mass murder, writing the Dark Prognosticus, ultimately causing the downfall of two ancient tribes and attempted obliteration of ALL life, I sentence you to the Labyrinth of Eternity!"

The queen raised her staff and trapped Dimentio in an inescapable vortex. The vortex was so strong, not even one with the might of Dimentio could break it. The Queen of the Afterlife chanted,

"Deleting deleting deleting deleting deleting deleting deleting deleting deleting ERASE FILE!"

The vortex closed in around Dimentio, the jester about to be sealed away forever. Right before the final moment…her cell phone went off. The vortex closed abruptly as Queen Jaydes sighed,

"I have to take this, sorry. Hello? …Oh hi, Grams. I'm kinda busy with … what? Luvbi returned?"

Queen Jaydes was astounded. Her daughter teleported to King Grambi after the blinding white light had passed. The anger that was once on Jaydes' face had turned to the smile of a child as she asked,

"How did this happen? … …I have no idea either! Well, tell her I'm coming up! …Oh, this is on speaker? Well then, I'M COMING UP, LUVBI!"

Without thinking, Queen Jaydes turned off her cell phone and called over Dorguy the Third, the gate between Jaydes Temple and Grambi's Temple. Jaydes commanded,

"Dorguy the Third…take me to Grambi's Temple!" Dorguy the Third responded,

"Queen Jaydes…I know this is a bad time with the Floro Sapiens to judge and all, but…can I be promoted to Dorguy the First? 'Dorguy the First' just sounds cooler, ya know?"

"Out of my way, Dorguy!"

Before Dorguy the Third could do anything, Queen Jaydes went through him and arrived at Grambi's Temple. The disappointed Dorguy sighed and became dormant (the Dorguy equivalent of sleeping), leaving Dimentio by his lonesome. The lucky jester said with a confused yet happy tone,

"…Well…that was easier than I'd thought! Now, the entire Minus World is at my disposal! At least until Jaydes remembers me."

Although Dimentio's millenniums-old plan of controlling the universe had failed, he still held his grin as he flew through Hell. Dimentio arrived at the River Twygz, noticing the Pepto Bismol-esque color. He said to himself,

"I need some privacy. This river should do it…"

Dimentio started to approach the river when Charold, the Ferrier across the River Twygz, warned,

"The River Twygz is dangerousssss…" Dimentio replied,

"I should be fine, thanks."

"This River is made of the tearsss of evildoersssss…much like yourself, yesssss? Don't add to the tearsssss!"

Ignoring Charold's warning, Dimentio dived down deep into the river. He put compact magic fields over all of the Underhands that approached him and blew them into nothingness without anyone knowing. Dimentio was glad to use his powers again, and he learned that they were not affected by his death in any way. He said aloud without anyone to hear,

"Easssssy enough. Well, the first thing I need to do is figure out how to escape this wretched place. Let's see…the only one who could give me a Continue is Queen Jaydes, and she wants me in the Labyrinth of Eternity! I need a way to control her…and I need a way to rule the universe once I escape. Perhaps the Light Prognosticus can be of my use again. The Dark book has faded to oblivion, but the Light one is still there. Someone in the world of the living has to find them, but how can I tell them? Wigi boards aren't used both ways."

The jester thought for a moment, snapped his fingers, and said,

"Doopliss! I wonder if my telecommunication powers with him will work from beyond the grave? DOOPLISS?" No one responded for a little while, but then a tiny blue light appeared. The voice of Doopliss sounded,

"…Dimentio? Is that you? You haven't teleport-talked to me since…wow, I guess since 2004! Three years, man! How's it been, Slick?"

Dimentio grinned and knew that his next plan was about to begin.

"Doopliss, I'm glad I can reach you!"

"Wait, do your thing! That thing where you're like 'and I appear like a blah blah blah'! That thing!"

"Um…and I appear, like fresh bacon out of a slaughter house?"

"YES! Anyway, why are we talkin'?"

"I need to ask you something, Doopliss. Is that giant void I created still suspended in the sky like a missile before detonation?"

"No, it went away a few minutes ago…wait, YOU made that thing? You made that thing that made those earthquakes and rumbles? WHOA! You need to fill me in on those things, Slick!"

"I told you to stop calling me that."

"Oh, sorry. **Master**."

"Much better. Anyway, that void was our ticket to a perfect paradise! And now it is gone, like a frightened turtle caught in the rampaging tides, never to return to the shore!" Laughter from Doopliss, before he caught himself and said,

"Why did it close?"

"Well, I was just killed, but Shadimentio was supposed to keep it going!"

"Well, maybe that people that killed you also killed Shadi…wait…YOU WERE KILLED?"

Oh. Right. He didn't know yet.

"I'm in the Underwhere right now. But Shadimentio was supposed to keep it going until the Void devoured all worlds! You said that when we created it that it would match my strength."

"It DOES match your strength! It does!"

"Then how is it gone?"

"I dunno!"

"Maybe you didn't create it correctly!"

"Maybe you're not as strong as you think!" Dead silence. Doopliss muttered,

"Sorry."

"That's alright. Doopliss, I am concocting a plan…an escape plan. I don't have the details worked out, but I know what needs to be done. And I think it's doable. But I need something to be available to me when I'm free. In the Ancient Forest, you should find a castle belonging to a king named Bowser. Inside of that castle is a dimensional break that should lead you to a place named Flipside. Find a wizard there named Merlon. Merlon is associated with the heroes that killed me – and stopped your plans three years ago, I might add."

"Wait, _Mario _is the one that killed you? Why didn't you say so! What do you need me to do? I can kill him back if you'd like!"

"No, I'll do that once I am alive again. Merlon the wizard has the Prognosticus, a book filled with legends. I need you to have it by the time I revive."

"Great! I'll find that Prognicus right away!"

"Wait, Doopliss! I also need a couple of servants to help me. I might need some cronies for my plan. Those servants need to be powerful enough to operate, greedy enough to desire a second life, but stupid enough to manipulate. Do you anyone that fits the description?

"Powerful, greedy, stupid…I think I know who can help you."

"You'd have to kill them, of course."

"Gladly! Leave it to me, boss! Ciao!"

"That's my line, Slick! Ciao!"

As the telecommunication ended, the little blue light turned off. No one else, not even Charold, knew what happened. Dimentio said aloud again,

"I hope Doopliss is smart enough. Well, he almost stopped Mario by himself…with Mario's allies, actually…but he should be good enough!"

After talking to his master and accepting his new task, Doopliss went to the Ancient Forest in search of Bowser's Castle. He was close to the castle when he heard a brutish voice say,

"That's exactly **why **I chose this place! Scary forests are a MUST for final levels!" Then, the voice of a dainty female said,

"Let's just hurry up and find the Marrymore chapel…"

Doopliss had heard that dainty female's voice before, and looked out from behind a tree to see who it was. It was Princess Peach, Bowser, Mario and all of the other heroes. The ghost said to himself,

"That was Princess Peach! And the fat guy that broke through the ceiling back at Shadow Palace! And…Mario! I need to tell Dimentio that they're here! Can I open up that blue light communicator thingy?"

Doopliss concentrated for a few seconds, and the inter-dimensional blue light appeared. Doopliss called,

"Dimentio?"

"…Doopliss? Did you find the Prognosticus already?"

"No, but I found the heroes!"

"Where are they heading to?"

"Uh…the princess said something about a place called Marrymore…"

"Follow them in the shadows and find out where Marrymore is! Do you see a cloaked wizard holding a book with them?"

"Uh…no."

"Well, I'm sure the wizard will catch up to them! Follow them, but don't show yourself until you can see the book!"

"Will do!"

"Good. Have you killed the servants yet?"

During their conversation, Doopliss walked towards a cliff and looked down at a gloomy town below. He recognized the dark place after seeing the steeple nearby that he knew so well. Doopliss said,

"I can kill them once I get that Progticus thingy."

"Great. Good luck, my little minion!"

"See ya later, Sli – er, Master!" The blue light went away as Dimentio said,

"I'm glad I can still talk to Doopliss. And there is still one old friend I need to talk to!"

Dimentio teleported out of the River Twygz to another section of the Underwhere-the deceased plant section. Papery vines shifted and peeled across the floor as Dimentio passed a paper Lava Pirahna, Petey Pirahna and Deku Tree. The place did seem somewhat empty, despite the Pirahna plants that littered the area. One nearby Shadyes asked,

"Where did Floro just go? Where did _everyone _just go?" Dimentio answered,

"All of those now gone were Floro Sapiens, and they have returned to the living."

"Really? ALL of them were Floro Sapiens? Was I the only Deku Shrub on the block?"

As Dimentio floated away, searching for a different plant life form, the Shadyes of a Deku Shrub turned to the Deku Tree and yelled,

"Deku? How did you die? Oh, wait…Ganan's curse, right?" The tree answered,

"No, actually. Link had the bright idea of using fire to burn down spider webs inside of me. Using fire inside of a tree…_real _smart."

Back to the main character of this chapter, Dimentio was flying around in search of a certain plant. Eventually, Dimentio found the one he was seeking-King Croacus the First. Dimentio said,

"King Croacus I, how long has it been?"

"Since I wilted. I presume by your presence that you have wilted as well."

"Just ten minutes ago. Those Floro Sprouts you gave me came in handy, by the way!"

"They did?"

"I used one fifteen minutes before my death on the Man in Green!"

"The green man from that dark legend book you wrote?"

"Exactly. I came close to creating my own universe!"

"You haven't forgotten our deal, have you?"

"Of course not! But, in order to escape this Hell and take over the world again, I need more Floro Sprouts."

"More? I gave you some for your plans hundreds of years ago!"

"But with just a few more, I can escape! Then I can destroy all worlds again and make your paradise! You'll have your own planet of Floro Sapiens to rule, with a million Floro Sprouts and an endless supply of fresh water!"

"…I don't know…"

"But I **do **know. You see, the Cragnons have been polluting your waters. King Croacus IV became insane upon drinking it."

"The Cragnons…poisoned our waters? And corrupted MY great grandson?"

"Well, your grandson died at an early age, and his regent took over for him."

"The royal family tree has been broken?"

"Great plant pun. Anyway, that regent stole your secret ideas for Floro Sprouts! He used them on the Cragnons to enslave them and claimed they were _his_ inventions!"

"That traitor…using the Cragnons as slaves was MY idea, even before they polluted our water supply! Dimentio, I know I have some Floro Sprouts left. I think I can root them up."

"Another great pun, King Croacus."

After the king's roots shifted around and dug in the Earth, five green sprouts appeared.

"Dimentio, I have five left over. Is that enough?"

"That should be plenty! As soon as I escape this Minus World, I will work on creating our universe!"

"Thank you, Dimentio. Ciao!" As Dimentio flew away, he muttered to himself,

"Why does everyone I say that to copy it…?"

Dimentio teleported back towards the entrance of the Underwhere. He hid behind some trees in the background, awaiting his new servants. The jester thought aloud,

"So, the only way to escape this place is through Queen Jaydes and her powers." The Jester pulled out a Floro Sprout.

"If I control Jaydes, I control the key to the door of the dead! …But she is too powerful. Even if I _could _somehow plant the Floro Sprout in her head without getting caught, she would feel it growing and instantly destroy it. After all, she literally controls life and death. I need a way for her powers to disappear while the sprout grows…but then return once the sprout has grown completely. My mission seems hopeless, like plankton against a military of metallic sharks. How can I escape?"

"Dimentio!" A blue light appeared and Doopliss repeated,

"DIMENTIO!"

"Doopliss? What is it?"

"I got one of those two books you wanted!"

"Two?"

"Well…you said you wanted the Prognostis from that cloaked wizard. But when I got there, there were _two_ wizards with _two_ Prognosticuses…Prognostici…books! So, I tried to take both!"

Dimentio was stunned that the Dark Prognosticus was found. He thought that his book faded away into Oblivion along with Count Bleck and Tippi. Doopliss continued,

"I only managed to get the lighter-colored one. Is that the one you wanted?"

"Yes…yes, it is. It was. Both books would be great to have, though! I could use another plan I wrote in my Dark Prognosticus to rule all worlds, and with the Light Prognosticus in my hands, no heroes could stop me! No one but those pesky Heroes of Light, but I can kill them first…as long as I control Queen Jaydes so that they don't get a continue."

"Well, those Heroes of Light are chasing after me right now, so I have to play defensive, Slick! But as soon as I can, I'll get the darker-colored book!"

"Good. And those servants I asked for?"

Doopliss looked back down at Twilight Town, seeing one specific house with the lights on and two figures inside. Doopliss pulled out a Superbombomb and said,

"Just a moment…GOTCHA, SLICK!"

Doopliss threw his bomb at the house and watched the explosion that ensued. Fire spread across the entire town and the house collapsed completely. Doopliss grinned with the fire reflected in his eyes. Doopliss laughed and chimed,

"I killed them! I killed them! They should be appearing there right now!"

"Thank you, Doopliss!"

"Oops, the heroes are right behind me! Later, Slick!"

"Goodbye, Doopliss!"

As the blue light went away, Dimentio saw something appear by the entrance. Not something…but two beings. Two purple shadowy crones had appeared, one wearing a hat striped blue and the other with a hat striped yellow. Beldam and Marilyn. Dimentio grinned and said to himself,

"These must be my minions!"


	3. Two Crones, an Angel and a Jester

King Grambi sat in his temple, watching The Void grow to an astronomical size. The tremors of this massive threat were enough to make a God fearful. The Nimbi citizens of The Overthere also felt this fear, and were all prepared to leave their underworldly homes behind. Naturally none of them wanted to; they had all seen what The Underwhere was like before they were judged by Jaydes. They didn't like it one bit. If this Void were to be stopped by the Heroes of Light as predicted in the Light Prognosticus, then his daughter's sacrifice will have saved the universe. But if Count Bleck were to succeed, then Luvbi would be gone for nothing, and all those in The Overthere would become Shaydes in The Underwhere.

Grambi knew this, and after a meeting with his closest advisors (Whibbi, Rebbi and Yebbi – Blubi still had a concussion), came up with a plan. They decided that he and his wife would turn half of The Underwhere into paradise, at least as close to paradise as they could get it. All those Nimbis about to fall were given a white ticket proving that they had already been judged and approved to be Nimbis. This way, they would be instantly teleported by Grambi and Jaydes to their new angelic home in The Underwhere, saving his wife the pain of judging millions of souls a second time. Yebbi already had the experience of judging souls in the past, so he would judge the souls of those from the worlds of the living who had died _during_ this massive shift.

The Nimbis awaited their forced departure, but Grambi was about to leave anyway. He needed to tell Jaydes that The Void would probably devour The Overthere, and they would have to use their plan. He sighed, and called over Dorguy the Third, the bridge between his and the Jaydes Temple. The king commanded,

"Taketh me to The Underwhere…and away from this doomed paradise." Dorguy the Third replied,

"Sure…but one thing first. I know this is a bad time with the Nimbis about to die and all, but can I be promoted to Dorguy the _First_? 'Dorguy the First' just sounds cooler, ya know?"

"Out of my way, Dorguy!"

Grambi attempted to go through the disappointed Dorguy, but before he could, a blinding white light shined through his temple. Grambi stopped in his tracks and looked around, trying to figure out this phenomenon. He couldn't see anything unusual once the light faded, nor hear anything unusual, nor feel anything unusual – including the tremors. After a brief silent pause, the air was filled with the sounds of bells, ringing through the worlds of the living and dead. Dorguy the Third closed itself with Grambi still in his temple, listening to the wondrous sounds echoing through the skies.

Eventually, the bells stopped, and some Nimbis disappeared (like some of the Shaydes in The Underwhere). The sounds of the bells, once faded, was quickly replaced by the sounds of joy and cheer. The Void had vanished! Mario had succeeded! Grambi stepped outside to see the Nimbis celebrating, hugging each other and ripping up their tickets. After this, one more white light flashed through Grambi's Temple – but Grambi's Temple alone. When Grambi turned around, he saw that his daughter Luvbi had magically appeared. She looked just as confused as him. The King went to her and stuttered,

"L-Luvbi?"

"Father?"

The two ran to each other and embraced, both of them tearful. Grambi asked his daughter,

"H-How didst thou return?"

"I knoweth not! The last thing in my memory was giving my Nimbi form to become the Pure Heart…and then I saw a white light. When yonder light faded…I hath returned!"

"Incredible! That white light must hath returned normalcy, the way things should be." After he said that, they looked outside to see the clear blue sky. He continued,

"Yes, 'twas the Heroes of Light. Count Bleck hath been stopped."

"…Thanketh thee, Mario…he wasn't as stupid as he looked." Grambi suddenly stopped dead, looked up, and realized,

"Wait a minute! Thy mother does not know that thou hath returned! Hold on, I shall give her a call!" Grambi pulled out his cell phone and contacted Jaydes. Grambi put it on speaker so that Luvbi heard her mother ask,

"_Hello?_ It's me, Grambi. _Oh, hi Grams. I'm kinda busy with-_Listen, Jaydes, Luvbi hath returned! _What? Luvbi returned? How did this happen?_I'm not entirely sure, do you know? _I have no idea either! Well, tell her I'm coming up! _It's on speaker, Jaydes. _Oh, this is on speaker? Well then, I'M COMING UP, LUVBI!_"

Jaydes hung up the phone on her end, and Dorguy the Third suddenly teleported away. But, Jaydes soon replaced him, and the queen embraced her daughter. Jaydes started to cry (Luvbi crying a second time), as she tried to say through tears,

"My daughter is back…I've missed you so much."

"I missed thee as well, mom."

"You didn't even have a conscience when you were gone!"

"I still missed thee!"

"That's my baby girl, so considerate!"

"I am not a baby; thou hath created me many years ago!"

"Oh, whatever! I'm still glad you're back!"

"And I as well." They embraced again, but the cheerful moment was broken by Grambi's phone ringing. He said,

"Sorry, I have to take this. Hello? _Hello, Grambi. It's Whibbi._ Whibbi! How art thou? _I suppose I'm doing well since the Void disappeared! I called about the void disappearing, actually!_ Well I hath bigger news! _Bigger than all worlds and lives being saved?_ Definitely! **My **world hath been saved because Luvbi hath returned!_ LUVBI returned?" _Grambi heard some noise in the background, and Whibbi continued,

"_That's great! The Three Sages are with me right now, and they heard you talking! This is on speaker!"_ The three color-coordinated Sages of the Overthere shouted from the background,

"_Welcome back, Luvbi!_"

"_We're so happy you're back!_"

"_Who's Luvbi?_" Grambi ignored the concussion-ridden Blubi and said,

"Come over hither! Let us celebrate!"

Grambi hung up the phone as Whibbi, Rebbi, Yebbi and Blubi headed over towards the temple. Before that, Dorguy the Third appeared and asked,

"King Grambi, Queen Jaydes, I'm serious about my promotion! …Oh, hi Luvbi, welcome back. _Anyway_, I have excelled in my field of work! My Underchomp servant is _very_ powerful!" Jaydes answered, still too amused by her daughter's return,

"Except that your Underchomp falls asleep whenever music plays. When I was examining the Underchomp for the first time, my cell phone rang and the ring tone knocked him out cold!"

"But few heroes have the newer design like you!"

Before Dorguy the Third could continue his losing battle, Whibbi and the sages ran into the temple. All four of them greeted Luvbi and were ecstatic to see her again. Luvbi, however, was already tired of people ecstatic to see her again. Her parents were fussing over her, the sages were wondering how she returned and Dorguy was saying how great she was in hopes of promotion. Whibbi asked her parents,

"How did she return, anyway?"

"I knoweth not! That blinding white light flashed, and when it was gone, she returned!" Whibbi thought,

"But that doesn't make any sense. The Heroes of Light must have returned the white Pure Heart after using it!" The pessimistic Rebbi concluded,

"No, the heroes would have kept the Pure Heart after they defeated Count Bleck! The Pure Hearts must have failed! Count Bleck could have destroyed them, and Luvbi happened to return because of that!" Yebbi asked,

"Then why is The Void gone, genius?" Blubi asked,

"What Void?" Rebbi continued,

"Anyways, even if the Heroes of Light DID stop Count Bleck, why did Luvbi return?" The optimistic Yebbi answered,

"Because they used the power of love, and that power returned all things to normal!" Jaydes added,

"Besides, the Shaydes that were destroyed by The Void got an automatic continue." Grambi added,

"As did the Nimbis! You probably noticed that the population of the Overthere is suddenly lessened." Dorguy the Third added,

"I think that the Heroes stopped Count Bleck! They got past the Underchomp, so they must be **very **powerful!" Jaydes said,

"Dorguy, my **cell phone** got past the Underchomp!"

"Whatever!" Whibbi stated,

"I'm still not so sure…"

While the six of them were arguing over how Luvbi returned and how weak the Underchomp is (you really can't include Blubi), Luvbi just sat there, bored out of her mind. She had just returned, and already her parents were annoying the heck out of her. She didn't have any interest in how she returned; all she cared about was that she had life again. And she had a life to start living.

Now that Luvbi knew the secret of the Pure Heart, she realized something. Her parents were protecting her not just because she was their daughter, but also because she was the key to saving all worlds. If she fell into the hands of evil, like Bonechill, the Void would have destroyed them all by now. But, the Void had vanished, and the Pure Hearts are no longer needed. In other words…her parents didn't have to be so overprotective!

But that logic didn't stop them. They were stuck in a rut of protecting her too much. And now, they were protecting her in a court of Parents v. Sages. The gloomy Luvbi went to Dorguy the Third, the only one besides Blubi not heavily involved in the case of the century. She whispered to him,

"I wisheth my parents would not smother me so much." Dorguy answered,

"I wish they would smother me more! If they would, I wouldn't be stuck with my low-paying job!"

"They payeth thou?"

"In respect! Which is _significantly_ lower than the respect Dorguy the First gets!"

"Why doseth Dorguy the First get higher respect?"

"Because he's the first one! He's number one, and I'm number three! I'm bronze, and he's gold!"

"…So?"

"_So?_"

Luvbi was confused by the talking door, but she came up with a plan using the door's peculiarity to escape (which teenagers are famous for).

"Say Dorguy…I can helpeth thee with thy promotion."

"Really?"

"Yes! My parents will do anything I ask of them, except give me some space! Let me go to the Underwhere and get some personal time, and when I return, I will telleth them how good thou art!"

"Really?"

"Totally! Thou scratcheth my back and I'll scratcheth thine!"

"Sounds good!"

Dorguy quickly opened himself up, and Luvbi went inside to visit The Underwhere. Dorguy then closed and went into dormant mode, optimistic about his promotion. Meanwhile, Luvbi was free from her parents, and was free to explore.

"Where are we?"

Beldam and Marilyn, like most creatures new to the Underworld, were confused as to where they were.

"Guh?"

"Wait…that explosion…I think that explosion killed us! We're dead!"

"Guh? Guh!"

"I know!"

"Guh?"

"Hmm…well, I **was **using the gas oven at the time. Vivian was probably using her fire magic…Vivian! I told you stop playing with fire when the gas oven is on! …Vivian?"

It took both of the sisters a while, but they finally realized that Vivian was not there. Beldam remembered,

"Oh, wait! She was shopping at the Twilight Town Market for some Life Shrooms when the explosion happened! Great! She's alive with **three** expensive Life Shrooms - paid for with **my **money - and we're dead!"

"Guh?" Beldam continued in an unusually cruel demeanor,

"I don't know how the explosion happened, then! Maybe she came back with the Life Shrooms, used one of her weak fire tricks before we saw her and blew up the house! Then, one of the Life Shrooms saved her-a Life Shroom paid for with **my **money!" Beldam hadn't have sounded this mean since before the Shadow Queen was defeated.

"…Guh?"

"It makes sense! Anyway, no matter how it happened, Vivian is alive and we are not! …We need a third member in our group."

"Guh?"

"Well we _always_ have a third member! Vivian, Doopliss…wait, why are you questioning me? Whatever. Let's just think of a third person to join us."

Marilyn was startled by Beldam's behavior. Ever since Mario stopped the Shadow Queen, Beldam was nice to both of her sisters. And the Shadow Queen was stopped three years ago! Marilyn figured that death was making her cranky (as most people would be after dying in an explosion), and thought that she would eventually turn nice again. 'Hoped' is a better word for it.

While the two dead Shadow Sirens were talking to each other, Dimentio was listening in on their conversation. Dimentio wanted to make sure that these two were the servants that Doopliss sent him. He opened up the telecommunication chat, turning on the mysterious blue light, and asked,

"Doopliss? Doopliss, can you hear me?"

"Dimentio, sir! Boss! …How's it hanging?"

"Well, I suppose I'm hanging just fine. Listen, I see two shadowy creatures that have had their game end. Is this your doing?"

"Yep! I killed them single-handedly with a Superbombomb! What do you think?"

"The blue-hatted one seems cruel enough. And they mentioned a sister with fire magic, so I presume they have magic of their own."

"Yeah, they do! The yellow-hatted one controls lightning and the jerk controls ice!"

"Wait…wait, I remember them now! Remember when I secretly followed Mario around after he battled you in Creepy Steeple to see if he could be the Man in Red? Later, Mario fought the two of them…with you!"

"Oh yeah!"

"I learned that he was the Man in Red after meeting his green-clothed brother in Rougeport, battling an Evil King and saving a fair maiden. In the Palace of Shadows, I believe it was."

"Yeah, you met the sirens when Mario kicked our butts! Wait…if you were following him invisibly, why didn't you help me out?"

"…I couldn't reveal my identity..."

"True enough. Say, I was kinda in the middle of touring for my show before this whole thing started, so could I go back and finish that up first?"

"Touring?"

"Yeah, the play I starred in! With Madame Flurry? I told you all about it; you even said you saw it!"

"…Oh, right, I remember now! …It was sold out, so I had to turn invisible and sneak in. But I definitely saw it!"

"So can I finish it up?"

"Doopliss, this task is far more important than any theatrical production, despite how important theatre is to this old jester. I still created you, and I am still in need of your service."

"Fine…" After Doopliss's regretful decision, Dimentio heard a roaring in the background of the telecommunication. He asked,

"What was that, Doopliss?"

"Oh, shoot, that was Bowser! The Heroes of Light, their pixls and two others I don't recognize are chasing after me!"

"Two others…O'Chunks and Mimi?"

"Who?"

"The two that you don't recognize…is one of them a shapeshifting girl and the other a strong Scottish idiot?"

"I dunno about the girl, but the man _definitely_ fits your description!"

"Alright, so they have teamed up with the heroes…not too surprising. Anyway, get the other Prognosticus and make sure they don't take them back."

"On it, boss!" After Doopliss told Dimentio that, Dimentio heard Beldam tell Marilyn that they should search for a third member. Dimentio said,

"I have to go! Goodbye, Doopliss!" Dimentio quickly teleported to the two sirens before they would leave the area they were at. Doopliss said,

"Goodbye, Dimentio!"

The telecommunication ended as Beldam asked the strange jester,

"Was that…Doopliss' voice?" Dimentio answered,

"Yes, that was him."

"I know that freak-in-a-sheet!"

"That freak-in-a-sheet is my minion. Wait, where are my manners? I should introduce myself first! I am Dimentio, master of dimensions, pleaser of crowds! What are your names?"

"I am Beldam, master of morons…at least that was when we were with our idiot sister, Vivian. But, Vivian didn't die with me and my other sister, Marilyn."

"Guh!"

"Greetings, Beldam and Marilyn! It is nice to have met two such beautiful women like yourselves!" Beldam whispered to Marilyn,

"I like this guy!" Dimentio continued in his formal-yet-informal way of speaking,

"I happened to have overheard you saying that you needed a third member to your group. I possess several magical abilities that could prove to be useful!" Beldam though and responded,

"Well…you're the first person we've seen in this place. There are millions of others that must be here, and some must be more powerful than you!"

"Trust me. My magical feats are incomparable."

To prove his point, Dimentio suddenly multiplied into five versions of himself before Beldam's eyes. The five Dimentios each put a compact magic field around a nearby tree, followed by snapping their fingers in unison. Several explosions boomed inside these magic fields, and the tree was completely obliterated. Ten leaves fell from the demolished tree, but before they reached the ground, three of the jesters shot three energy spheres at them. All nine energy spheres hit, and all nine were obliterated. Dimentio turned back into one form again as a single leaf was still falling. Dimentio teleported to it, grabbed it, and used the energy sphere magic to make it burn instantly. After this, Beldam stuttered,

"…Welcome aboard!"

Dimentio was now a welcome member of the Shadow Sirens – despite being a man, but he didn't mind the title too much. He was greeted with praise from Beldam, but Dimentio knew how she treated Vivian and Doopliss, so he didn't expect the praise to last. Beldam said,

"Great…well…what do we do now?" Dimentio answered,

"Well, truth be told, I **have **been planning an escape attempt ever since I arrived here."

"An escape plan?"

"Guh?"

"How can you escape death?" Dimentio assured her,

"There are ways. You see, I have managed to obtain five Floro Sprouts from my good friend King Croacus. You plant them inside of people's minds, and after a few hours of growth, they can brainwash their victim."

"That's incredible! …How is that useful?"

"You see, the underworlds are ruled by two people: Queen Jaydes and King Grambi. Queen Jaydes runs _this_ underworld, and judges the sins of those who come here. If the deceased are good, they go to the Overthere paradise, ruled by King Grambi. These two rulers have the power over life and death…in other words; controlling them is the key out of here." Beldam thought of a _brilliant _idea and said,

"Then plant those sprouts inside of them!" Dimentio said,

"It's not that easy. They could sense the Floro Sprouts growing, and kill them before they grow to the proper size. They ARE the rulers of death, after all."

"Oh…then how do we escape?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out."

Beldam became frustrated (as she so often was before her master was obliterated), but before she could yell at Dimentio, they heard a rustling behind them. The sirens used veil to hide underground as Dimentio turned invisible. Beldam whispered to Marilyn,

"Well she **does **have cool powers."

Marilyn hushed her sister as the source of that rustling approached. It was Luvbi, wandering through the Underwhere as she had wanted. But she didn't look like she wanted to do what she was doing. She stopped, and thought aloud,

"I should not be doing this. Mine parents are probably worried sick about me! …If they art not still blabbering on about me. They spend so much time trying to protect their daughter that they do not even knoweth what she wants! I just want parents that giveth me some space, lots of money and unlimited freedom! That's not so hard to do! Still, they **art **mine parents…maybe I should return and apologize. And tell them how great Dorguy the Third is, I suppose."

Marilyn saw Beldam suddenly grin wide with a new idea, and glided to go behind Luvbi. Luvbi was turning to go back home, but as she stepped above Beldam, ice spiked up from the spot she was hiding under. The ice froze Luvbi solid, encasing every part of her body. Beldam's spell lost some of its power as it got further away from her, so the ice around Luvbi's head broke off easily. She yelled,

"WHO ART THOU? What dost thou wanteth with me?" The three Shadow Sirens revealed themselves, and Dimentio said,

"She's got such a hot head that the ice around it melted!" Luvbi yelled,

"That's NOT funny…Dimentio?" Dimentio said,

"Keep her frozen…wait, you know me?" Luvbi answered,

"My mother hath told me stories about what thou hath done! You're that evil jester that destroyed two ancient tribes!" Dimentio told her,

"I didn't destroy them! The Pixl Queen destroyed the Tribe of Ancients and Count Bleck destroyed the Tribe of Darkness! To be fair, the Pixl Queen didn't even destroy the tribe – it just weakened it and let it decline to a point of destruction." Luvbi shot back,

"Mother told me that THINE brother createth the Pixl Queen after reading the Dark Prognosticus THOU wrote! Also, she hath told me that THOU convinced Count Bleck's father to curseth Timpani to wander dimensions forever, which is what made Count Bleck destroy the Tribe of Darkness!"

"That may be true, but I saved a few people from the Tribe of Darkness before they were destroyed! Also, I was the one who _killed_ the Pixl Queen, that evil causing the downfall of the Tribe of Ancients!"

"My mother still sayeth that thou art the essence of evil!"

"Such strong words from a teenage girl like you! Today's youth is becoming so vulgar." Beldam asked,

"Not to interrupt your petty conversation, but who is this mother she keeps obsessing over?" Dimentio answered,

"This child's mother, Beldam, is none other than Queen Jaydes." Beldam asked,

"Queen Jaydes? The one we need to-" Dimentio interrupted, still with his signature grin,

"Don't say it in front of the daughter!" Luvbi asked,

"Don't say what? Don't **do **what?" Dimentio instructed to Beldam,

"I'll teleport the three of you to a cave I found before joining your side. I need to spy on this girl's parents and figure out how to do…our plan."

Dimentio teleported the others to a hidden underground lair he had found earlier. Rocks covered the entrance, so it was secluded from the rest of The Underwhere. Marilyn put the frozen Luvbi on a rock away from the entrance while Beldam froze her to it. Beldam didn't bother to freeze her head because the siren enjoyed hearing her scream. While the two sisters endured Luvbi's loud teenage complaining, Dimentio went to Grambi's Temple while invisible.

The King, Queen, sages and Dorguy were still there, but the mood had changed significantly. As they realized Luvbi had run away yet again, a feeling of despair replaced the exhilaration. The only one who wasn't 'upset' was Jaydes, because she was filled with anger towards Dorguy the Third. Dorguy (upset for obvious reasons) pleaded,

"But it wasn't my fault! You were smothering her so much that she had to flee the premises!" Jaydes shouted,

"Don't talk back to me like that! I am the Queen of Death, and even though you are just a door, I could STILL send you to the Labyrinth of Eternity!"

"…Luvbi WAS acting a little immature…" Whibbi interrupted her scolding by asking,

"Well, what should we do?" Grambi answered,

"T'would be a waste to try and locate her. A girl like her would do _anything_ to hide from her parents. But she knoweth the way back, and when she is ready to return home, she will." Jaydes responded miserably,

"So she's like a runaway cat. Great."

"What else couldst we do?"

"I suppose you're right. Still…I can't believe she left already. She JUST returned from her Pure Heart form, and now she's gone again…we're horrible parents." Grambi went over to his melancholy wife and said,

"We art not horrible parents! We were just delighted to have her return, and we were lost in the moment! Luvbi was probably just as confused as we were-I mean, she hath just came back to life and everything! It shall be alright, thou'll see!" Jaydes gave a soft smile and responded to her husband,

"I hope you're right. Dorguy, go to the Underwhere and wait for Luvbi to come back."

"Alright, boss! I won't let you down! I'll do anything my masters need me to-"

"Just go already!"

The ticked-off Dorguy left, leaving the parents and sages waiting. Yebbi said,

"This is not necessarily a bad thing! Maybe this journey will teacheth Luvbi a valuable life lesson!" Meanwhile, in the cave, Luvbi shouted,

"Unfreeze me now or my parents will find you and give you true hell – followed by sending you to the most hellish hell there is!" Beldam responded,

"Maybe I _should _freeze your head, you insolent rat." Luvbi screeched back,

"I shall NOT be held back by a crone like thou, Beldam!"

"CRONE? Who are you to call me a crone, you pug-ugly creature!"

"PUG-UGLY?" Marilyn sighed as Luvbi continued, "Thou art the one who is pug-ugly around hither!"

"I am not! Dimentio called me beautiful, and I'm sure he'd have plenty of words to describe **you**!" Dimentio teleported in as Luvbi said,

"_Dimentio_ calleth thou beautiful? Why doth that matter? He weareth a dress, for crying out loud!" Dimentio answered, barely a smile remaining on his face,

"It's not a dress; it's a jester's uniform." Dead silence. Dimentio continued, grin returning,

"Maybe you _should _freeze her head." Luvbi asked smugly,

"What, canst thou not handle my insults?" Dimentio answered,

"No; a D-Man could hear your high-pitched squealing and find us."

"Guh?" Dimentio explained,

"D-Men are the servants of Queen Jaydes." Beldam asked,

"Speaking of Queen Jaydes, did you learn anything of value from her?"

"Not much. Just that she loves her daughter to death and is heartbroken to not know where she is." Luvbi asked,

"…Really? My mother was heartbroken?" Dimentio answered,

"Like two star-crossed lovers with heart transplant failures! Jaydes couldn't believe that you left as soon as you arrived. She called herself a horrible parent."

"She is not horrible! She is a GREAT mother! I loveth her!"

"And she loves you. Which is why she is so upset."

"Mom…dad…I hath let them down."

"But that's all behind us! They may be upset, but don't worry about that now! Worry about US instead!"

"**Why** art thou holding me hither, anyway?" Dimentio answered,

"You see, the three of us have all been killed in our prime. We are looking for a way to escape death. The key factor of our plan is your parents."

"They shall not give thee a Continue! Not after thou held their daughter hostage!"

"I know they won't give us a Continue…voluntarily. That's why we must force them to."

"Thou canst not overpower them; they control life and death!"

"That's what is making our plan so difficult. But I think you are part of that plan…possibly the answer."

"I shall not help thee forceth my parents into freeing thou! I loveth them too much for that to happen!"

"That's right. You DO love them too much. But I'm tired of talking, even _if_ the topic of discussion is the overrated subject of love. Marilyn, use your lightning to knock this Nimbi girl out." Beldam commanded,

"You heard him, Marilyn! Zap her!"

Marilyn was charging her lightning, but before it could strike, a tear ran down Luvbi's cheek as she said,

"I love my mommy and daddy…"

As she said that, a blinding white light emerged from her. The light flashed repeatedly, faster and faster, until a shape was starting to become recognizable from her. The shape, which was the source of the white light, was the Pure Heart. It started to beat, and as it did, the ice freezing Luvbi melted away.

Luvbi was bewildered but glad that the Pure Heart was beating from within her. She thought that when she had returned to normal, the Pure Heart was gone. But there it was, blinding the three foes that had trapped her. Eventually, the light turned into an unstoppable force, knocking Beldam, Marilyn and Dimentio to the ground. In one final beat, the light absorbed back into the heart, and Luvbi was teleported to Grambi's Temple.

The three Shadow Sirens got up from their state of pain and confusion. When they realized what had happened, Luvbi had already teleported away. The dazed Beldam asked,

"Where did she go? What happened?" Dimentio answered,

"I think that the Pure Heart is still a part of her. The power of love will protect her from harm, including the harm Marilyn was about to inflict." Beldam continued,

"Well that's just GREAT! Dimentio, if you hadn't of gone on and on about how much her parents missed her, that Pure Heart thing wouldn't have saved her!"

"I think it would have, actually."

"But you don't know for sure!"

Marilyn sighed, realizing that whenever Beldam was confused, she was angry. The angered sister continued,

"And why did you tell her that she's part of our plan, which by the way you still haven't though of?"

"I needed to see if the Pure Heart was still with her, and this was the experiment to find out."

"You're insane! Dimentio, as the leader of the Shadow Sirens, I am ordering you to tidy up this cave!"

"But you can't really clean a cave-"

"Then find a way! Since you're new, I'll explain something to you. The third member listens to me and does every command I give them! So clean up this cave while Marilyn and I go by that orange Fountain of Health. **We** deserve to heal up the wounds that **you** caused!"

The two sisters teleported away, leaving Dimentio to clean up their new lair. The jester was not angry at Beldam's punishment or Luvbi's escape; on the contrary, he started to laugh after they were gone. He thought aloud,

"Luvbi seems to love her parents dearly, and her parents to Luvbi. They can't think clearly without her gone, and Luvbi tends to leave often…escaping death might not be so difficult!"


	4. Peach Times Three

"COME BACK 'ERE YEH GHOSTY THING!"

The Heroes of Light, as well as O'Chunks, Mimi and the pixls, were still in pursuit of the fleeing Doopliss. Even though they were tired after having just collected the Pure Hearts and saving all worlds, Doopliss stole the Light Prognosticus, and there was no time to rest. Peach had activated Dashell, giving the group of heroes a better chance of reaching the shapeshifter. They were getting closer and closer to the target, until Doopliss finally put two and two together, thinking,

"Wait…why don't **I** just copy that fast-afying pixl?"

So, Doopliss turned into Dashell and matched Mario's speed. Not only did Doopliss now have Dashell's quickness; he also had his size. The Ancient Forest they were running in was filled with vines, roots and clumps of dirt to trip over. The heroes had to watch their every step while still running at a rapid pace, but Dashell Doopliss simply hovered over the obstacles. The one negative part about his size was that it was hard to hold onto the Light Prognosticus while running.

Peach couldn't quite maneuver around the vines as well (she refused to replace her high heels, opposing to what Mario had asked repeatedly), so Carrie had to help her. Luigi also had similar problems as what Peach was having – not because he had high heels; just because he was clumsy – so Mimi copied Carrie and helped him out. Luigi said,

"Thanks, Mimi." Mimi responded underneath his feet,

"Anything for you, Luigi!" They continued on, but stopping to carry Peach and Luigi slowed them down. Bowser complained in the midst of the chase,

"Thanks for using Dashell, Peach!" Bowser's ex-wife responded,

"At least I was using my brain, unlike **some** people here!"

"I use my brain all the time! Those puzzles in Super Mario Bros. were tough!"

"Except that you were too lazy to pick up all the Fire Flowers."

"Hey, I still captured you, didn't I? You have to rely on that plumber to save your life every time!"

"But he _does _save me every time!"

"By using the Fire Flowers I was too lazy to pick up!" Mario continued leading the chase, feeling both accomplished and agitated by their conversation. Doopliss interrupted,

"Geez, couples DO always fight when they first break up!" Peach yelled,

"THAT'S IT; WE'RE CATCHING UP TO YOU!"

Dashell Doopliss was getting further and further apart from the heroes. Mario attempted to use Thoreau to grab the Light Prognosticus, but the ghost was too far away. Doopliss mocked,

"What's the matter, you can't reach it? C'mon! Reach for it! Reach for the stars!" Bowser yelled,

"You'll be seeing stars when we catch up to you!"

"Good luck catching me! You know, getting past the vines and everything!"

Mario realized that even though Carrie gave them an extra speed boost, it wouldn't do any good to have Peach and Luigi be the only ones using her. He gave a command to O'Chunks, who repeated,

"Me carry a couple of yeh?" Bowser replied instantly,

"If you can 'carry a couple of yeh', then I can to!" While still running, O'Chunks grabbed Luigi and got on Carrie Mimi, holding the green brother high above his head (despite Luigi's fear of heights). Bowser went towards the regular Carrie, but Peach crossed her arms and exclaimed,

"I am _not _being carried by Bowser!" Mario sighed as O'Chunks offered,

"I cin carry her, too! I cin carry more than dat stuffed turtle!" Bowser shouted back at the Scottish brute,

"Oh, really?" Mimi shouted,

"Just shut up and carry them!"

So, O'Chunks took a hold of Peach while Bowser got on Carrie. Bowser reached to take hold of Luigi, but he climbed away from the Koopa King. Mario sighed again and jumped into Bowser's arms. Now all of the heroes were being carried by a pixl or Mimi, meaning they all got the Carrie speed boost. Meaning they were gaining on Doopliss. The runaway shapeshifter realized this and kicked it into high gear, Mario knowing how quickly he could flee. Peach was close to Mario, despite being held by a different person, and whispered to him exclusively,

"Bowser's insane. You don't think I rely on you too much, right?" Silence.

"Seriously, Mario. I don't like having to depend on you every time Bowser invades the kingdom! I feel like a damsel in distress that has to be rescued by a **man**! I'm _not_ that archetypical, right?" Silence.

"It doesn't matter what you think. I'm not a stereotype and I know it." Doopliss shouted from 20 feet ahead of them,

"Even **I **know you're a stereotype, princess!"

While the hyper-fast chase between good and evil was intensifying in both speed and stamina, Nastasia was still sweeping up glass back at Marrymore Chapel. When she had just finished cleaning up all of it, Tom Crook, the chapel owner, went inside his building. Tom Crook wore an expensive suit, with sunglasses and a face that meant business. He said aloud while nose-deep in a schedule on his Mailbox SP,

"Alright, the divorce between Pac-man and Mrs. Pac-man was scheduled to begin 35 minutes ago, so what's the…" Tom looked up and saw the glass. Or, rather, the lack of it.

"…Hold-up…" Nastasia cleared her throat and stuttered,

"Um…well, that's an interesting-"

"**What happened to my church?**"

"You see, the divorce was taking place, but a shapeshifting ghost burst through the window and knocked over two wizard friends of mine, K? Then, he ran off with a legendary tome that is needed to…" Tom took off his sunglasses, revealing the enraged look in his eyes. Nastasia fumbled,

"…I've lost you, didn't I?"

"Completely. I'll have you know that I've been running this chapel since my father gave it to me on his 60th birthday. I forget what day that is, be he said he was too old to run the place, so it was entrusted to me! After putting him in a home - I forget where that home is, but that doesn't matter - I ran the Marrymore Chapel! This place is important to me, and important to the townsfolk as well! Your bill comes to about…20,000 coins. Do you have that on you?"

"Well, the maximum anyone can carry is 999…"

"Then start carrying gold bars around with you! The price is still 20,000."

"I'm not entirely sure how people can carry solid gold around with them…let me return home and get the rest of my money. I promise I can return in a timely fashion."

"Fair enough. But if you don't come back within six to seven business days, I'll find you and sue you in Isle Delfino Court - the strictest court there is!"

As Nastasia returned home with a debt to Tom Crook of 20,000 coins to pay, the heroes were still hunting down Doopliss. The combination of Carrie and Dashell was useful, but it was not enough to catch up to him. The real Carrie and the fake Carrie were both tired of lifting the rest of their team. Mimi asked,

"Can't we take a break?" Peach commanded,

"We have to catch up to Doopliss! Don't give up now!" Mimi responded,

"That's easy for _you _to say; it's not like you're doing any work or anything."

The irate Peach crossed her arms again as they continued the chase. Just as the heroes were starting to lose hope, Mario had an idea and whispered it to O'Chunks. O'Chunks said,

"Dat could dew it! Peach, yeh gonna 'ave to be carried by Bowser fer 'dis to werk."

"…If I must."

So, Peach was handed off to Bowser (seriously not trusting him), leaving Luigi alone in O'Chunks' arms. The Scottish brute held onto Luigi's legs and aimed him towards Doopliss. The general said,

"Luigi, it's time fer one of yer Super Jumps!" Luigi muttered,

"W-what?"

"C'mon, dew it!"

Luigi sighed, scrunched up his body and catapulted towards Dashell Doopliss at an incredibly fast pace. But, Luigi rocketed past the target, since the tiny pixl form was hard to hit. Luigi scraped across the forest floor, but O'Chunks picked him up as they dashed by. O'Chunks said,

"Whoa nelly, dat was close! Luigi, my rocketin' friend,, let's dew it again!"

The injured Luigi sighed even louder as O'Chunks aimed him towards Doopliss a second time. He scrunched up his body like before, and prepared to do another Sideways Super Jump. Only this time, he actually managed to hit Doopliss, knocking the Light Prognosticus out of his grasp. The book sprung forward like Luigi did, but hit some surface and fell to the floor. As Doopliss reverted to his normal form and scrambled to pick it up, he hit the same surface as his book did. But…he couldn't see the surface at all. Eventually, the surface turned visible – it was Francis, knocked onto the ground like Luigi was.

Ignoring the strange lizard creature that blocked him, he turned back into Dashell (shapeshifters can turn into forms they've previously copied by memory) and fled the area. Francis got up, blocked the heroes, and said,

"Greetings again, Mario! …Peach…" Peach whined,

"Not this guy again!" Francis said,

"Playing hard to get..._no, focus, Francis!_ It's a pleasure to see you again!" Bowser rushed,

"I know it's great to see each other without creepy cat robots around, but we're kinda in the middle of a chase here! We need the book that freak was carrying!"

"Oh, no problem!"

Just then, Francis turned invisible and sped towards Dashell Doopliss. With one whip of his invisible tongue, Doopliss hit the ground, turning back into his normal form. Doopliss tried to get up, but his body was paralyzed, still clutching onto the Light Prognosticus. Francis explained,

"Ever since I bought that 'Lick' TM on eBay, my tongue has a 30% of paralyzing its target! I guess it's my lucky day!" Peach said flatly,

"It's not mine." Mimi turned back into her girl form and said,

"Peach, where are your manners? Thank you for helping us, lizard guy! Could you hand us that freak, please?" Francis clutched onto the paralyzed Doopliss like a teddy bear (or in his case, his plush Donkey Kong doll) and said,

"No way! You guys raided my fort, stole my Tippi, and worst of all, soiled my authentic Tanooki-fur rug! Don't you have the courtesy of wiping your feet when you're in someone else's castle?" Bowser said,

"I **know**! You'd think it'd be common sense!" Peach said,

"I figured you would have had about five of those rugs just in case one got ruined." Francis answered,

"I do, but that's not the point! Oh well, the Loons don't want me to have extras of things anyway…" No one said anything, but then Luigi finally asked,

"The Loons?" Francis explained,

"Oh, the Loons are a group of people monitoring me for my obsessive behaviors. They're from the Loon Insane Asylum, so I call them the Loons!" The heroes looked concerned, but then Francis chimed,

"Hey, why don't you come to my shop? I'm being forced to sell many of my goods, and it's only five minutes away!" The heroes looked skeptical, but then Francis added,

"You're not getting this ghost if you don't." Luigi said,

"Well, then, let's go!"

So the Heroes, the lizard and the paralyzed Doopliss went to Hut Francis. They looked at all of the items he was selling, but nothing interested them. A Penguin Suit, a Lil' Sparky in a jar (similar to fireflies in a jar), an original Donkey Kong hammer, FLUDD...not much they wanted. Peach looked through his collection posters, finding posters of Samus, Lyn, Zero Suit Samus, Chell and Zero Suit Samus again. She shuddered and went by the other heroes. Bowser said,

"Listen here, Francis. The only thing we want is that white book and that white frozen freak!" Doopliss screamed,

"HEY! …Oh, cool, my mouth is unfrozen!" Francis explained,

"You don't want anything here because you don't know its _value_! These things are so rare you're lucky I'm not selling them in Beanbean coins!" He confused the heroes yet again (except for Mario and Luigi, of course), so Francis yelled to the back room,

"Tiptron, get in here!" After that command was given, a small robotic creature resembling a butterfly flew in. The heroes were astonished how small it was, and how similar it looked to Tippi. Francis said,

"Tiptron, tattle on the history of these items." The robotic Tiptron stated,

"My name is Tippi, but you can call me what you want to, boss. The original Donkey Kong hammer originates from the 1981 arcade game _Donkey Kong_…Mario used it for several purposes, including the destruction of barrels and Foxfires, the latter only appearing in the last level of the game, 100 mm…since _Donkey Kong _is the first of the hundreds of Mario games, along with the fact that Pauline was the damsel in distress instead of Princess Peach, makes this item a great collectible…" Peach was annoyed at Tiptron for calling her a 'damsel in distress', but then asked,

"…Pauline? Who-" Mario abruptly changed the subject and pointed at Tiptron. Francis asked,

"You want to buy** Tiptron**? No, she isn't for sale. She's **much** too valuable." Doopliss yelled,

"I bet you'd trade another Zero Suit Samus poster for it!" Francis said,

"I would, but that's not the point! It cost me a fortune to put all of Tippi's memories into a robot, especially one as tiny as Tiptron!" Peach asked, instantly forgetting about whoever Pauline was,

"It has all of Tippi's memories?" The lizard answered,

"It sure does! Although…when I was downloading Tippi's memories, I noticed that her memories were not…all there. Some knowledge of her past was locked away for some reason. But just like with Tippi, Tiptron will unlock her memory over time." Tiptron said,

"My name is Tippi…why do you keep calling me otherwise?" Mario asked for a price on Tiptron again, missing his old companion, and Francis reluctantly answered,

"Well…999 coins sounds fair, wouldn't you say?" The heroes looked at each other, dumbstruck. O'Chunks yelled,

"999 coins? Are yeh knocked in the 'ead? It's not like we carry **gold** **bars** around wittus!" Mimi yelled,

"Not even my precious rupees sell for that much!" Eventually, Bowser smirked and said,

"Well then, how about a trade?" He then used Thoreau to take Francis' laptop. Francis whined,

"Give it back! This is an indirect form of cyber bullying! …Think about it!" Bowser ignored his complaints and responded,

"Tiptron for laptop, what do you say?"

"…Fine. You win."

Bowser returned Francis' precious laptop, and in exchange, Tiptron became the newest member of the Heroes of Light. Francis said,

"Also, since you made such a high purchase, you are awarded with the Silver Member Appreciation Card." Bowser said,

"That's more like it! …What does it do?" Francis stood tall, cleared his throat and yelled,

"**I APPRECIATE YOU!**"

…

"That's it?"

"Hey, you're appreciated! Go have fun with Tiptron!" O'Chunks asked,

"Can we juss have dat ghost now?"

"Oh, sure!"

Francis looked behind him to grab the paralyzed Doopliss, but the shelf was empty. He looked under the counter, but Doopliss and the Light Prognosticus were gone. The nerdy lizard ran back to the counter and yelled,

"I can't believe it! He took the Frying Pan, used by both Game & Watch AND Cooking Mama!"

…

"Oh, and that ghost is gone." Bowser yelled,

"He's GONE?" Francis said,

"I guess the paralysis wore off…" Everyone glared at him.

"Paralysis is better in the card game, okay?"

Mario ran to the open window and saw a tiny red dot glowing in the distance. Luigi said,

"That must be Doopliss copying Dashell! Let's go!"

So, Mimi copied Carrie, allowing O'Chunks to get on while Bowser got on the real Carrie. The two brutes grabbed their passengers, Mario grabbing onto Tiptron, and they dashed after Doopliss. But this chase had a change of pace, for Hut Francis was at the entrance of a bustling city, filled with skyscrapers, cars and gangs.

Although the sidewalks and roads were easier to travel on than the vines and dirt, the chase still had its difficulties. Inhabitants of the town were everywhere, and crashing into someone would significantly slow the heroes down (not to mention the police joining the chase, not in the heroes' favor). Luckily, using Dashell AND Carrie gave them a faster speed combination that Doopliss could never copy.

Doopliss used the advantage of his size and swept through small alleyways the heroes couldn't all fit through. But, Dottie was quick, and the heroes didn't have to worry about being too large. Doopliss flew back out towards the people of the city again, starting to get more and more exhausted. Doopliss looked back, and thanks to Dottie, he couldn't even tell where they were anymore. He complained,

"They're so small! It's like a march of the minis or something!"

Doopliss waved in and out of the walking civilians, but the new size of the heroes became a disadvantage. Unlike Dashell Doopliss, who could float up to two or three feet in the air, the heroes were only a centimeter off the ground. Going through the hundreds of walking people oblivious to their existence could mean trouble, especially since a few Wigglers and fast-paced Bandits lived there.

The feet of the bystanders trampled along, nearly squashing the heroes dozens of times. It was all up to Mario to steer them clear of obstacles, and he was a pro at it – after all, he won all the Mario Kart tournaments. When they reached an empty spot, Dottie removed her powers, restoring the heroes to their proper size. This let Doopliss create more ground between them, but that didn't stop the heroes. Luigi asked,

"What should we try next?" Tiptron said,

"Perhaps my encyclopedic knowledge of enemies could give some insight on your trouble..." O'Chunks said,

"Juss tell us what to dew!"

"I prefer to give helpful hints and let _you _figure it out..."

"**Juss tell us what to dew**!"

"Fine…pixls that have you select certain point in your line of vision, like me and Fleep, could reach a moving object like Doopliss..."

"…So…wait, I got dis! …Uh…"

"Use Fleep to flip and confuse him…"

"Great idea, Tiptron!"

So, Mario called on Fleep, and his cursor went over Dashell Doopliss. In one motion, Dashell Doopliss was flipped through the dimensions, arriving back to the 2D world in a daze. The heroes caught up to the runaway shapeshifter, Thoreau trying to grab the Light Prognosticus. But, Doopliss had enough sense to copy Boomer first. Thoreau grabbed Boomer Doopliss instead, and Thoreau was damaged in a tiny explosion. Thoreau was momentarily dazed, reminding Mario of his original paper partners. Doopliss then copied Slim, grabbed onto the book and raced up the sidewalk.

Since Doopliss was now in 3D, the heroes had to chase him in 3D (using Slim, since Mario could only flip himself). Luckily, the heroes also used Dashell, giving them a much better chance at reaching him. However, many more civilians were blocking the 3D path. The heroes reconstructed the Carrie chasing structure they had made before, and they continued after Doopliss. Just to annoy them, Slim Doopliss flipped between 3D and 2D regularly. Bowser yelled,

"This chase is giving me a headache!" Tiptron instructed,

"Mario, since you can flip without using Slim, try to cut Doopliss off…take Dashell with you…"

So, Mario took Dashell and zig zagged through the three-dimensional crowds. He jumped over some, ducked past others and quickly double-flipped to avoid the unavoidable. Eventually, Mario caught up to the slimmed Doopliss, who tried to copy Dashell and run past him, but it was no use. Mario was in front of him and the other heroes came up from behind. Dashell Doopliss looked, and was surrounded on his left and right. They closed in on him, pressing him against a skyscraper. Carrie Mimi returned to her girl form, saying,

"It's no use, Doopliss!" O'Chunks yelled,

"Give us back dat book, yeh wee ghost!" Doopliss turned back into his normal form as well, saying,

"Alright, you guys win." Doopliss looked to his left, then to his right, and then looked up. He added, "Except for the fact that I can fly! See ya later, Slick!" Doopliss held onto the Light Prognosticus tightly and flew up the building. Mimi copied Doopliss and said,

"I think I can catch up to him!" Tiptron added,

"Mimi, you can use Thoreau to take one of the Heroes of Light with you…"

"Which one?"

"A lighter hero, preferably..."

"…Sorry, O'Chunks. Sorry, Bowser." Luigi asked,

"What about me or Mario?" Mimi said,

"Well…if you laid of the spaghetti a little…" Bowser said,

"Bring Peach! She can go across skyscrapers, and even if Doopliss copied her, he wouldn't get any good powers anyway!"

"Good idea!"

"HEY!"

Despite Peach's anger, Doopliss Mimi took Dashell while Thoreau took the pink princess. The four of them flew up to the top of the skyscraper, and they caught up with Doopliss. The ghost looked at the gaps ahead of him, copied Peach for the parasol, and glided away. Mimi also copied Peach to use her powers, and the Dashell-powered Peaches started their chase.

The three Peaches chased each other and glided over the plentiful skyscrapers. Doopliss was used to heights on account of his room in the Creepy Steeple, Mimi was used to heights on account of the suspended platforms in Castle Bleck and Peach was used to heights on account of always being locked up in the highest tower. So, none of them had a problem looking down 20 stories below them. They didn't have to chase long, because the heroes managed to catch up to Doopliss (thanks to Dashell). Thoreau grabbed the Light Prognosticus, but the Peach Doopliss swung the pixl around. When Thoreau came to his senses, he looked at the three Peaches, not knowing which was which.

"Thoreau, I'M the real Peach!"

"No, **I **am!"

Mimi turned into her normal girl form again, but realized that she was just as confused as Thoreau. They looked at the two Peaches (one of them grabbing the Light Prognosticus from Thoreau), and Mimi asked,

"Peach? Which one of you is it?" The two Peaches said,

"It's me!"

"It's me!"

"He's Doopliss! Only someone as childish as him would copy whatever I say!"

"You don't need to resort to insults, Doopliss! Only someone as childish as _him_ would do that!"

"Oh, you're good…"

"And you're _not_ good; that's why you're Doopliss!" Mimi interrupted,

"Alright, that's ENOUGH! There's only one way to settle this. I've been in the same situation where there was a women and a shapeshifter copying her…only **I **was the shapeshifter. So we should settle it in the same manner as that…"

THAT'S MY PEACH!

"We're going to have a contest to determine which one is actually Peach!" The Peaches said,

"We don't need to do that! Doopliss is holding on to the Light Prognosticus!"

"But I grabbed it from you when me and Mimi cornered you!" The other Peach said,

"Mimi, look into your heart and ask yourself…would I say 'me and Mimi'? I would say 'Mimi and I', right? When would I use improper grammar?" Mimi gasped and said,

"Yeah…yeah, you're right!"

Mimi and Peach turned to Doopliss, who was the Peach holding on to the Light Prognosticus. The two peaches attacked, though the Light Prognosticus marker didn't help much. Mimi accidentally hit the real Peach in confusion and shouted out,

"I'm gonna grab the Light Prognosticus, so Peach, if you get it, give it to me!"

"I got it!"

"No you don't!"

One Peach pushed the other, and the Light Prognosticus flew out of their hand. It fell down the tall skyscraper, but luckily, Thoreau and Dashell were quick enough to grab it. In that time, one of the Peaches took out a frying pan and knocked the other out cold. The two pixls came back with the Light Prognosticus, and handed it to the only Peach conscious. Mimi said,

"Good job, Peach! But shouldn't Doopliss return to his normal form after being KOed?" Peach answered,

"Not necessarily. Doopliss can maintain his form even when he's knocked out."

"Alright, then let's go back to the others!"

Mimi turned back into Peach, and the two Peaches glided away to where they came from. The rest of their group made it up to the top of a skyscraper, and Bowser said,

"It's about time! Let's give it back to Merlon and get back to the Mushroom Kingdom!"

The other Heroes of Light agreed with Bowser, so they used the Return Pipe to go back home. Peach was holding on to the Light Prognosticus, and Merlon would be happy to have it again. But, after they were long gone, the _real_ Peach regained consciousness on the skyscraper rooftop. She mumbled,

"W-what happened?" She looked around and saw no one there.

"Hello? Hello?" She realized that Mimi, the pixls –and the Light Prognosticus- were all gone.

"Oh no…Doopliss! He's still copying me! And he has the Light Prognosticus! And he's with the others! I have to tell them!" Peach got up and tried to pull out her parasol, but it wasn't there. Instead, she pulled out a frying pan.

"Doopliss! He must have stolen my parasol and made me look guilty by giving me the frying pan he stole! But he got his own parasol when he copied me…_he just took it to be mean!_" The princess looked down the skyscraper and saw the long road that she chased Doopliss down. The sky was dimming and the city was even busier than before.

"No Return Pipe, no parasol…I shouldn't be traveling for these lengths without items! I'm not meant to do that! I'm not Mari…" Peach paused, then shouted with a booming voice,

"I am NOT a stereotype!"


	5. Your Princess is In Another Dimension

Although she did not have the parasol to help her, the stranded princess found a way down. She scoured the rooftop, but there was no door leading to inside the building. However, she managed to find an air duct that spread through the entire skyscraper. She broke the vent off and was skinny enough to climb through it.

"Wow, this corset is actually coming in handy…"

Peach worked her way through the duct and got to the first floor, majorly confusing the citizens employed there. But she didn't care about that, or even think about the strangeness of a woman with a pink dress and crown climbing out of a dusty chute. Her mind was preoccupied with two things: Doopliss harming her friends, and the realization that she had become a stereotype.

The princess left the skyscraper she was stranded on and began the long walk home. There was no clear path as to where they came from, since the puzzle of catching Doopliss took up their focus. She walked down the streets of the city, and quickly realized something: being dressed as a princess in a strange city is no picnic. As soon as she was in the open, a shady looking Doogan came up to her and asked,

"Hey, you…you want some shrooms? You look like a fighter with the tattered dress and all. Or maybe you're one of those 'damsel in distress' types who need a fighter to save her. Either way, shrooms are the way to go!"

"No thanks, really…" Suddenly, the man opened the trench coat he was wearing, revealing a stash of assorted mushrooms.

"Let's see, I got regular mushrooms, Max Mushrooms, Volt Shrooms, Life Shrooms…a girl like you could use a Life Shroom."

"I really have to get going."

"You don't like the standard market products, huh? Well, little lady, I got a **Golden** Mushroom in here! I even have an Invincishroom! It'll cost ya 500 coins, even though I don't know what it does, but-" Peach remembered what the Invincishroom did to Mario and responded,

"You know, I just spent all my money on a robotic butterfly version of a friend of mine, anyway…" She could tell the man didn't believe her, and he pulled out a Poison Shroom.

"You tryin' to mess with me?"

"No, not at all!"

"You're gonna give me some coins anyway, shroom or no shroom!"

"NO I'M NOT!" Without thinking, Peach pulled out the frying pan she was given and knocked the Doogan out cold. She said aloud to herself,

"…Did _I _just do that? …It felt pretty _good_, defending myself from the likes of him!"

The princess laughed, put her frying pan away and left the city. If anyone there came up to her, she just pulled out the frying pan (which by now had a head-shaped dent in it). The tattered clothes/dented frying pan combo made her actually look tough. Creeps backed away from her, and she liked the freedom of it. She walked into the forest, and realized that walking on vines with high heels seldom works. So, she put her shoes away, walking barefoot through the mud-covered floor. As she whacked a few menacing Goombas away, she said to herself,

"This frying pan is incredible! It's no cheap Fire Flower or Starman, but it definitely shows results! Now, whenever a Goomba comes my way…" She continued while demonstrating it on a Goomba charging her way,

"I just knock it _out _of my way!" WHACK!

"Oh look, coins! Anyway, this is **much** better than when Bowser kidnapped me and Mario leapt to my rescue! Every single time…well, I'm not **that **stereotypical and useless!"

Just then, she looked down at the clothes she was wearing. A pink flowing dress with a shining baby-blue emblem and puffy shoulders. Not to mention her crown and earrings, the latter being bigger than her actual ears. And the pink high heels and pink parasol she normally used.

"Or maybe I am." She continued on. "Ever since 1985, my plumber in red has been forced to save me…and the plumber in green, I suppose. 22 years of the same story over and over again: I being captured by Bowser and Mario saving me. The adventure is different every time, but the plot isn't. I want that plot to change! Like with the adventure I just went on, I was needed for several puzzles and challenges! I even took out a freakish spidery creature in Castle Bleck…but then saved her after the fight was over.

"Even if I saved her, that just means I have the heart of a hero in me! And I saved Mario once before in Super Princess Peach, using the…power of emotions…well, the time of being useless is over! I won't be the Toadette to Toad, the Birdo to Yoshi, the Minnie to Mickey, the Wonder Women to Superman…wow, there are a lot of examples of this. From now on, I will be known as…the Pink Wonder! That sounds cool! Pink Wonder, away!"

While the 'Pink Wonder' was finding her way back home, the Return Pipe brought the other heroes to Flipside Tower immediately. The group of heroes, along with Doopliss imitating Peach, returned to Merlon's house. Doopliss was waiting for the perfect moment to sneak away with the Light Prognosticus. Merlon, Nolrem and Nastasia were there as well, Nastasia asking the two wizards for a loan. She was about to leave to repay Tom Crook, but their conversation came to an abrupt end as Merlon chimed,

"You found the Light Prognosticus! Excellent work, heroes!" After a moment of celebration, Nolrem added,

"…I suppose it's time you returned home then." Luigi said,

"Yeah, I miss my old room and my old bed! _Hopefully no one found my diary while I was away…" _Bowser added,

"And it's time I got to my new castle! I've got a new army to train!" Luigi said,

"No capturing Peach this time, okay?" The heroes laughed as Bowser said nonchalantly,

"Well, I don't know about that…"

Just then, Bowser pulled out a remote of some kind and pressed a large red button on it. Suddenly, the fake princess was trapped inside of a metal-barred cage. But, she (or 'he' I suppose) wasn't the only thing trapped: she (or he) was holding onto the Light Prognosticus. The Koopa King called out,

"HEY KAMMY KOOPA!" As soon as he gave his command, Kammy Koopa flew in on her broomstick.

"Huff, huff…King Bowser! Did you know how hard it was to find you? Even though that dimensional rip took me to this town, it took forever to find the house you were in! How can I find you in a foreign town if you're indoors, even if this house DOES look conveniently unique?"

Bowser ignored her complaints and pressed the second button on the remote, which revealed his infamous Koopa Clown Car (no one quite understanding the logic of how his vehicle appeared like that). He hopped inside, taking the cage with him. Nastasia tried to brainwash him, but before she could, Kammy Koopa saw her and hit her with a block. Kammy Koopa flew up to Bowser in the air, as the Koopa King yelled,

"Good luck finding us at my NEW castle!"

Bowser laughed as he, Kammy Koopa and the Peach-impersonating Doopliss flew away towards his new castle. Peach Doopliss blew a kiss at Mario (trying not to grin) as Merlon yelled,

"THE LIGHT PROGNOSTICUS! …And Peach!"

Mario didn't need to think about what he had to do; he had done it plenty of times before. Instantly, Mario jumped through the door and ran towards the dimensional rip to chase after Peach. Luigi was also quite familiar with the scenario, and he leapt into action as well. O'Chunks and Mimi were a little shaken up by what had just happened, since they had no knowledge of Bowser's past. But, Tiptron explained,

"Bowser has been Mario's arch-rival since the timeless classic of Super Mario Brothers, released in 1985. The game-"

"Juss shut yer trap and foller us!" Before O'Chunks, Mimi, Tiptron and the other pixls could leave, Merlon shouted,

"Wait! My crystal ball can help you find Bowser's Castle!"

Thoreau grabbed the crystal ball as the group caught up to Mario and Luigi, thanks to Dashell's help. Nastasia also left Merlon's house (in as much confusion as the other previous minions of Blumiere, not to mention the block attack to the head) to pay off her debt to Tom Crook. Thoreau gave the crystal ball to Mario as they were going through the dimensional rift. Once they were teleported to Bowser's old castle, Mario looked through the crystal ball in order to find Bowser's new castle. Before he could see a clear image, a Paratroopa flew in and knocked it out of his hands. A Goomba came in, accompanied by an army of various Bowser baddies, and said,

"Well if it isn't Mario! Even if you manage to get past this army – which you won't – you'll never find Bowser's new lair!" Mario glared at the Goomba and was about to jump on it, but was stopped by his brother. Luigi walked cautiously to the Goomba and asked,

"…Gary?"

"Luigi?" Luigi approached the Goomba, who stuttered,

"Oh, Luigi! Great to see you again, man! Good to know that you're free from the brain contr-" Luigi interrupted,

"I thought that you became one of Count Bleck's baddies! Why aren't you in his castle right now?" Gary responded,

"What? Oh, I snuck out of Castle Bleck before things got messy. I joined willingly, without getting brainwashed, remember?" Since Luigi had no memory of being Mr. L, no. Gary continued,

"That 'betrayal' of mine paid off nicely!" Luigi grounded his stance and said (attempting to sound tough),

"You're still not going to stop us, you fiend!" Mimi called,

"Luigi!" Luigi turned around to see that Thoreau had already taken the crystal ball back from Gary's gang. O'Chunks commanded,

"'Ey Mario, yew, Thoreau and dat crystal ball should 'ead over to 'is castle to get Peach! Wheel 'old off de army and catch up to yew wit Dashell!" Gary mocked,

"I don't know what you just said, but it won't work! Army: attack!"

As Mario left with Thoreau, Tiptron and the crystal ball (barely managing to understand O'Chunks' orders), Gary's army got into formation. The army consisted of the normal Bowser enemy fare: Goombas, Koopas, Paratroops, Paragoombas, Magikoopas, Koopatrols, and worst of all, Hammer Brothers. Mimi said,

"Oh, so _this_ is where Count Bleck got those stupid brainwashed minions!" Gary answered,

"Hey, Luigi was also-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Cudge went up to him and pounded him into the ground. This motivated the army to attack. The Koopas were all in their shells, shooting at the heroes who were affected by gravity. O'Chunks trained with a team of Yoshis from when he was a general, and so he had good kicking reflexes. Luigi also had good kicking reflexes from nearly drowning in the Mushroom Kingdom pool. The general instructed,

"Mimi, yew cin copy Cudge and attack de air force!"

While the two of them kicked shells into the Goombas and at other Koopas, Mimi copied Cudge and was focusing on the aerial enemies, as O'Chunks commanded. Cudge handled the Paragoombas and Cudge Mimi handled the Paratroopas. The Paratroopas that were hit by Cudge Mimi became regular Koopas, and added to the work O'Chunks and Luigi put in. They were defeating the floating enemies at a quick pace, but the Magikoopas slowed them down with their attacks in the air. O'Chunks saw this and yelled,

"Barry, dew somethin' to 'elp out Mimi an Cudge!"

So, Barry reflected the Magikoopa spells, flinging them back at the casters. During all of this, Mario was running towards Bowser's Castle. Thanks to the crystal ball, Mario knew that the castle was just to the east of where he was. He realized that the army in his new castle would be _much _greater in numbers, so he prepared for the worst (which meant the usual). The red plumber also passed by enemies that weren't yet hired by Bowser, but still hated Mario for killing hundreds of their own species. So, they attacked him as well.

While Mario was stomping on his own enemies, Koopatrols started to attack the other heroes. O'Chunks and Luigi were starting to get hurt, and the Koopas were flying right into them. One knocked Luigi on his back and the Koopatrols kept charging at them. Luigi had a surprisingly difficult time trying to get up, whining,

"I feel like a Koopa right now." All the Koopas there decided to gang up on Luigi at that point. O'Chunks yelled out, in pain but still in charge,

"Thudley! Use yeh powers to flip oveh dees armored Koopas! Not flip like Fleep, but anotheh kind! Yeh know wat I mean! Boomer, explode when dey're flipped!"

Thudley did what he was told, and thudded onto a Koopatrol. Thudley got a bit of damage, but the Koopatrol was flipped, and a quick explosion from Boomer knocked him out. So, nearly everyone was busy wiping out the opponents, and all groups were taken care of –except for the Hammer Brothers, who threw their hammers at every type of hero there, airborne or not.

O'Chunks wanted to save them for last, but Luigi wanted to stop their cruel attacks right away (once he got off his back, of course). Unfortunately for him, the Hammer Brothers were not on a row of blocks he could jump under…they were floor-level. Risking everything (at least to Luigi it was), Luigi timed his jumps to stomp on the Hammer Brothers, and managed to knock them out. O'Chunks was able to handle the Koopas and Goombas, killing all but Gary, who was still stuck in the ground. In fact, he was run over by sliding shells many times, but Gary was a surprisingly resilient Goomba.

After Luigi's timed jumps and the final kick from O'Chunks, the heroes defeated the entire army Kammy Koopa had collected. Luigi said,

"Good job, O'Chunks! You knew exactly how to use our powers!" O'Chunks responded,

"Well, I was a general in meh day! A gewd one, too! Meh army was fighting fer dat Dark Prognosticus, and we were up 'gainst de army dat 'ad it! But…meh army lost. However, dat meant when Dimentio showed meh to Count Bleck an I joined 'is forces, I knew where it was! So, Count Bleck defeated dare general, an dat's when he got 'is book back!" Mimi added,

"Yeah, thanks to O'Chunks, Count Bleck got the book back from all those nasty wars it had created!" Mimi walked next to Luigi and told him,

"You did a good job too, Luigi! You're really powerful…" Luigi blushed and stuttered,

"We should really catch up to Mario…"

So, they followed Mario's tracks, based on O'Chunks' tracking expertise. With the additional help of Dashell (along with the fact that all enemies on the way were defeated by Mario), they caught up to the plumber right outside of Bowser Castle #9999. The castle was just like every other one: big, sinister-looking, somehow creating a storm behind it when it was sunny a minute ago. Nothing new. And of course, like with every castle, Peach was at the very top.

While the heroes were trying to reach Bowser's Castle, Bowser flew to the top chamber, along with Kammy Koopa and the entrapped Doopliss. The cage was set down while Bowser got out of his Clown Car. Kammy Koopa also set herself down and said,

"Inter dimensional travel is a pain on the old back! If you'll excuse me, I'll be off to take a nap!"

"Alright, Kammy, go ahead!"

"Thank you, your Tremendousness!" As Kammy Koopa flew out of the room, Bowser told 'Peach',

"Well, he we are again! Feels like old times, huh?"

Doopliss realized that he had to imitate Peach. It didn't seem like that bad of a situation, actually. Not just because Mario would rescue him and the tiring battle with Bowser will exhaust the heroes enough to let him get away with the Light Prognosticus…but imitating Peach would be fun. So, he said,

"Let me go, you overstuffed pizza-face!"

"Your insults have improved, I see, but that won't help! My army is invincible! Mario doesn't have a chance!"

"I know that Mario, my hero, will save me!"

"You still have a crush on that plumber, huh?" Doopliss fake-blushed and said,

"He's the love my life." Bowser clenched his eyes and fists in anger, as Doopliss sneaked a grin he couldn't hold in any longer. He managed to stop smiling when Bowser looked back at him and said,

"And now that we're divorced, you two could get married…and with the whole Pure Heart lovey dovey feel of our last adventure, you'll probably get hitched right away!"

"I wouldn't doubt it! He's my knight in shining armor!"

"That's why I have to kill him!"

"NO! Don't do that! Don't break a stereotypical damsel's heart! My heart couldn't handle it!"

"Well, that's too bad! Say goodbye to your precious plumber!"

Bowser's army flooded through the entire fortress, the evil Koopa laughing maniacally. Doopliss was secretly having just as much fun as the Koopa King. While the fake Peach cried for Bowser to stop in the most stereotypical way possible, the _real_ Peach finally made it to Bowser's old castle. The place was nearly abandoned at this point, since the troops were defeated and the heroes had moved on. There were still two Koopas left, who were pulling a Goomba out of the ground. Once the Goomba was free, he saw the princess, and said,

"What are YOU doing here, Peach? I thought you were captured by Bowser!" Peach responded,

"Long story – wait, captured by Bowser?" Gary said,

"Yeah! Bowser put you in a cage and flew you to his new castle!"

"He did?"

"Yeah, how do you not know this? Once you were captured, the heroes came through here looking for you!" Peach realized what Bowser had done and gnashed her teeth together, although she expected Bowser to try that soon anyway. She thought aloud,

"That fire-breathing idiot! He captured _Doopliss_ instead! I better tell Merlon!" Peach tried to go through the dimensional rip, but the two Koopas stopped her. Gary continued,

"Wait…if you're here…what is Bowser doing?"

"Taking a shapeshifter captive."

"A shapeshifter? We need to alert the boss!" Gary motioned to one of the two Koopas (for a Goomba, motioning at anything is hard), and instructed,

"Yo! Mitch! Go tell Bowser he has a shapeshifter captive instead of Peach!"

The Koopa dashed off, and Peach knew that she couldn't catch up to him. She had just been fighting stray Goombas and Koopas for hours! But, the princess looked at the second Koopa that was next her, and then looked at her frying pan. Peach jumped on the Koopa, making him go inside his shell. Peach aimed through the open side-gate where Mitch ran out, and Peach used the frying pan to launch the Koopa shell at him. They were both knocked out right away as Peach said,

"Wow, those Mario Golf games actually came in handy!" She turned to Gary and bonked him on the head with her frying pan. Gary finally was knocked out, and Peach grabbed the few coins he let go of. She grinned at her golf prowess, but then remembered,

"Oh, right, telling Merlon what happened!"

Princess Peach went through the dimensional rip and appeared in Flipside once again. She was happy to walk the rest of the way to Merlon's house in a peaceful town as opposed to a bustling city or a monster-infested town. She burst into Merlon's house, and Merlon was the only one there. Nolrem had left for his house in Flopside to study the Dark Prognosticus and Nastasia was heading towards Marrymore Chapel. Merlon looked at the princess (noticeably her dirty feet and ripped clothing) and asked,

"Peach! Are you alright? Well, at least they managed to save you!" Peach countered,

"No, Merlon, they didn't save me! I was never captured by Bowser!"

"…What?"

"That was Doopliss! Doopliss was copying my form ever since we –er, they- came back from the Ancient Forest!"

"So, Doopliss was holding onto the Light Prognosticus and not you?"

"Doopliss has the Prognosticus?"

"Well, you had it – er, he had it – so yes. Oh, my…that's not good. No matter _who_ has it, she –er, he- has been captured by Bowser!"

"Should I go tell the others?"

"No, they're probably long gone by now. I'm afraid there's nothing more for you to do but wait."

"So…the other heroes are going on an adventure to save me and the Light Prognosticus…and I'm stuck _waiting _for them?"

"So it seems."

"…I am NOT a stereotype!"

The feisty princess sat down in Merlon's house and rested, waiting for the heroes to return with Doopliss. She was worried that Doopliss would harm the heroes once they freed him, and Merlon worried that he could take the Light Prognosticus away again.

As they worried, the heroes entered Bowser Castle #9999. It was all of Bowser's army versus Mario, Luigi, O'Chunks, Mimi, Tiptron, 11 pixls and the crystal ball. It was a pretty one-sided match, and you can guess who would win. The heroes quickly defeated the group of enemies in the castle hall, and the last one dropped a key. Mario took that key and unlocked the first door, wondering why the enemies always carry keys around, and why it's always the last enemy who has it.

That first door led to a long staircase that seemed to go on for infinity. Mario and the others walked up the staircase for an entire minute, but it had no end. It was an endless staircase – again. Mario realized the similarity of the endless staircase to another adventure he had gone on, and silently sighed. Tiptron said,

"Mario, if you use Dashell, you should be able to beat the curse Bowser has put on this stairway…" Mario took Dashell and the heroes ran up the staircase, getting to the next door in a couple of seconds. Mario mumbled something and Luigi responded,

"Yeah, having Dashell _would _have helped out the first time."

They went through the door and found themselves in a much larger room. Enemies, spikes, and torches seemed to be spread everywhere. On the opposite side of the large spiky chamber, there was a large metal door with two locks on it, connected to chains holding the door shut. Mario flipped to find out that in addition to the two locks, there were two smaller doors, one on the left of the room and one on the right. Since the heroes had gone through the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials and got the cards at the end, Mario could stay in the third dimension without getting hurt by it. Mario knew that through each of those smaller doors was a long, puzzle-filled passageway that had a key guarded at the end. So, after a short game of eenie-meenie-meine-mo, they went through the left one.

The left passageway consisted of several lines of fire, spinning around in a confusing pattern. Mario tried flipping, but the fire walls covered the entire area, so the third dimension wouldn't help. So instead of using 3D, Mario decided to use Dottie. The group of micro-heroes ran through the wheels of fire, timing their sprints to avoid getting burned. For if they got burned, they would somehow end up at the beginning of the hallway. Mario never figured out exactly how that made sense. After a couple of tries, they made it to the end of that area, which had a key on a pedestal. As soon as Mario returned to normal size and took the key, a group of four Hammer Brothers and four Fire Brothers fell from the ceiling. The Mario brothers sighed at the sight of the Hammer Brothers and heard one of those four brothers saying,

"We're the Flaming Carpenters, and we demand our key back!" Mimi chucked at their name as the Hammer Bro repeated,

"Seriously! Give it back! I'm warning you – the Flaming Carpenters are an elite group of Koopa fighters!" Mimi said,

"I think we can take on some…Flaming Carpenters! Lol!"

"I don't care _if _you have the famous L.O.L powers! Our flaming hammers will take you out!"

The Hammer Brothers started chucking hammers and the Fire Brothers started spitting fireballs. Luckily, Barry had the advantage over both groups. Before the Mario brothers could leap into action, Barry reflected a couple of hammers, knocking them into two of the Koopas who threw them. They were both knocked to the floor, one of them saying right before they lost consciousness,

"Wow, we **are **powerful!" Mimi said,

"Two down, six to go!"

The four Fire bros. went in front of the other two brothers and spit out a bombardment of fire. Mario jumped through the great balls of fire, eventually jumping on one of those brothers, knocking him out. Luigi threw Boomer near the other three Fire Bros, and would instantly explode if any fire hit it. Unfortunately, one Fire Brother coughed, and that created enough sparks to make Boomer explode. After being dazed by Boomer's explosion, O'Chunks ran in and knocked out all three of them.

With those four defeated, the only enemies left were two Hammer Brothers – how appropriate. Mario looked at his brother, who nodded back, and they ran at the enemies. They times their jumps well, and simultaneously defeated the last two villains. With the first key, the heroes went back to the large spiky chamber.

"Why do you think that killing Mario will make you win my heart?"

"Peach, baby, it's not that! It's just that if Mario's out of the picture, I'll be the strongest guy you know!"

"But…you're already so powerful!" Doopliss was nearly dying of internal laughter. Bowser responded,

"I know I am!" Doopliss said,

"When we got divorced, and that attractive ghost broke in the window…I was hoping he would interrupt the proceedings."

"Me too! Wait…I thought you WANTED the divorce! You were the one forcing me to do it!"

"I know this sounds crazy, but…I think I'm starting to change my mind!" Bowser was delighted to hear that, and Doopliss was delighted to say it. He continued,

"Bowser…I love you."

"BABY! I love you too! So, you don't mind having Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings as children?"

"…Why not? I'd love to be a mommy!"

"Great! I'll go get Kammy Koopa! I think she's legally able to betroth people – she ranted on once about betrothing two pirates, or something; I wasn't really listening." Bowser left the room to retrieve Kammy Koopa, and as soon as the door closed behind him, Doopliss started dying of laughter. He said to himself,

"I should do this more often!"

With one key in their possession and one key left to go, the Heroes headed towards the middle chamber. The enemies in that chamber somehow regenerated, but they were easy to kill a second time. After defeating those Goombas and refilling their coin meter a fair amount, they went into the East Wing.

Unlike the Left Wing, which was filled with obstacles of fire, this hallway was filled with obstacles of ice. The floor was slippery and ramps of ice led into bottomless pits. Penguins were sliding around, dodging the pits and knocking into the heroes. And worst of all, wheels of ice that would freeze you on contact mirrored the fire wheels of the other wing. Suddenly, a Penguin sliding towards them got up, waddled to the heroes, pulled out a note and said,

"Message for Mr. Stache from His Greatness, King Bowser! 'Hello, my little puny plumber! Good luck on rescuing your princess, because I have captured not only her self, but also her heart! Hate, King Bowser.' Oh, and there's a lipstick kiss on the envelope – peach colored lipstick. Sorry, guy." The penguin went back on its belly and slid away, using the ramps to go over the bottomless pits. Luigi said,

"Let's get to the other side of this hallway and get that key!" Mimi said,

"But how are we supposed to get past those pits? It's not like we have a penguin suit or anything!" Tiptron and O'Chunks both looked up with an answer. O'Chunks waved his hands in the air, but Mario asked Tiptron first. The robot said,

"Our Carrie formation from earlier, along with the assistance of Dashell, could probably fly over the gaps...Carrie tends to glide a little…plus, Mimi can use her memory to turn into Peach again…" O'Chunks whined,

"Not de Carrie Formation again!"

Against his will, O'Chunks got on the real Carrie pixl, carrying Mario and Luigi. Mimi turned into Peach, and got her parasol ready. Carrie took off, flying past all sorts of traps and penguins. Mario was the best at fast-paced jumping and driving, so he controlled the steering.

The biggest threats were the wheels of ice. Mario timed his sliding to avoid them, but the slippery floor made them crash into one. The entire group of heroes and pixls were frozen, and a penguin was about to knock them into a pit. Luckily, Boomer could instantly light a fire to detonate himself with, and so the ice encasing him was melted. Boomer set himself down right in front of the penguin, and exploded with the icy enemy directly on top. So, the Penguin flew up to the ceiling and landed back on the icy ground with a thud. This thud, however, was enough of a crash to break the ice.

Mario looked with dread at the cracks beginning to appear. O'Chunks yelled,

"'Ey Maria, 'urry up an get movin!"

So, Mario steered the stack of heroes faster than the cracks could move. The heroes raced over ramps, through ice wheels and on top of sliding penguins, all while the ice behind them was collapsing into the pits. They did not know how this lair of ice was formed in the middle of a hallway with no bottom to it, but that didn't stop them. Eventually, the heroes reached a solid surface at the end –which also held a pedestal with a key on it.

The heroes separated from their stacking formation as Mario picked up the key. As soon as they did that (not too surprisingly), eight Ice Brothers dropped from the ceiling surrounding them in a circle. The leader of them boomed,

"We are the Icy Reptiles, builders of this icy field and guarders of this key." The heroes looked at them with confusion, and the leader continued,

"You haven't met us Ice Brothers yet. But that's not important now! What's important is that you're not going anywhere!" Mario was unfamiliar of these 'Ice Bros', so he asked Tiptron to tattle on them. Tiptron stated,

"It's an Ice Bro. These elite Koopas spit out balls of ice that freeze you on impact… Max HP is 10. Attack is 3. Defense is 1. Those ice balls bounce on the ground, so watch carefully…still, I bet their breath is minty fresh…" The leader responded,

"Oh, it is! But _you_ won't be once we're done with you!" Another Ice Brother asked,

"…What?" The first Ice Brother reiterated,

"They won't be as fresh as our breath once we're done with them."

"…What?"

"Well, we're going to freeze them and push them into the bottomless pit, right? That'll kill them. Once they're dead, their bodies will start decaying, and then they won't be so fresh! You know, because their flesh will start to-"

"Let's just kill them already."

So, the Ice Brothers ended their talking and began spitting ice at the heroes. The heroes were quick at dodging the bouncing projectiles, but bigger targets were easier to hit. In other words, O'Chunks was the first to go. As soon as the Scottish giant was frozen, two Ice Bros ran over to push him into the pit. Tiptron saw this (her being mostly an observer), and said,

"O'Chunks is in trouble…help him…"

So Mario and Luigi, the natural answerers to distress, jumped on the two Ice Brothers. Luigi used his Super Jump and Mario used Cudge to do their damage. But, while Luigi was charging his Super Jump attack, he was frozen solid. As he was scrunched up. So, Mario had to knock out the second ice brother as Thudley crashed on O'Chunks to smash the ice.

Two down, six to go. Once O'Chunks was freed, he took one of the ice-spitters and threw him into the pit. Five to go. O'Chunks realized that his throwing skills came in handy for a small stage surrounded by bottomless pits and so he yelled,

"Barry! Coveh me while I chuck de Ice Brothahs!"

Barry floated over by the Scottish general as O'Chunks grabbed onto another Ice Brother. O'Chunks charged his arm and went to throw him, but before he could let go, the poor Koopa spit out an ice ball, freezing him to his hand. O'Chunks looked at his hand with discomfort and waved it around, but the turtle would not come loose. This left four more Ice Brothers on the field.

An Ice Brother was spitting at Mario, who was distracted trying to use Cudge to get Luigi out of his ice. The ice on his brother was surprisingly hard. So, Mimi had to copy Mario and knock out that Ice Brother herself. The real Mario realized that Luigi couldn't help and O'Chunks was a little…distracted…so he leapt into action again. He called over Thudley to free Luigi. Even when frozen, Luigi shivered as Thudley was about to crash into him.

There were three Ice Brothers left (since one was on O'Chunks' hand), and the two Marios went up against them. The Marios jumped off of the floor and landed on the Ice Brothers, dodging the ice balls. Two of those Ice Brothers were knocked out, leaving the leader to his lonesome. Luigi ran to his brother/brother impersonator, legs unfrozen but body still covered in ice (he was running from Thudley). Luigi still managed to jump over the leader, but the jump turned into an ice body slam. Luckily, the thud both knocked out the last Ice Brother and broke the ice encasing Luigi without Thudley being involved. The leader Ice brother let go of the key he stole, and Mario grabbed it.

With the Icy Reptiles defeated (O'Chunks finally knocking the Ice Brother on his hand and into the pit), they left to the main chamber. Except for one flaw…the entire pathway was broken. O'Chunks yelled,

"'Ow are we supposed teh get back?" Luigi said,

"If only there was a way to go back to the beginning of this hallway!"

The heroes thought about what to do, and even Tiptron was stumped. So, it came to Mario to get back. Mario thought for a little while, and then got his idea. All the heroes waited for Mario to explain, but he simply ran to the bottomless pit and jumped in. He got one damage, but appeared on the other side of the hallway. All the other heroes did the same as he did, and all went to the exit door. Tiptron muttered,

"That's not a correct way of doing it, but it still works…" With both keys under their possession, they opened the main door, and there was one small hallway separating them from Bowser and 'Peach'.

Speaking of Bowser and 'Peach', the two of them were back in the same room, Kammy Koopa accompanying them. The fake Peach was let out of her cage, and Kammy Koopa took the Light Prognosticus to use like a Bible in their wedding. It turns out that she _had_ betrothed two pirates before – if she could remember the exact details of the same story Bowser remembered from five years ago, it was probably true. Kammy Koopa announced,

"We are gathered here today to join a beautiful princess and a powerful king! This reminds me of the time I almost got married, and to the cutest boy on the block. You see, we were-"

"Kammy, pay attention!"

"Sorry, your Impatientness! Bowser, do you promise to stay wed unto Princess Toadstool until your game ends?"

"You bet I do!"

"And Princes Toadstool, do you take this incredibly wonderful king to wed until your game ends?" Peach blushed and said,

"I do! I do!"

"If no one has any reason to object…you may kiss the bride."

I know what you're thinking. Mario bursts in right now and stops the wedding. Well, you're wrong. Bowser and Peach kissed uninterrupted, this moment being the best moment in the King Koopa's life. Since 1985 he has fought hard for this, and 22 years of army-recruiting and castle-reconstructing had finally paid off. There was no chance that Mario would rescue her and marry her now!

But…Doopliss turned back to his normal form in the middle of the kiss. Bowser opened his eyes and stared in a frozen stance, his lips frozen in a puckering position. Doopliss stopped kissing Bowser and laughed like a fiend. The ghost stole the Light Prognosticus from Kammy Koopa (also frozen in shock), jumped on the windowsill of his room and said,

"See ya later, Slick! Ciao!"

Doopliss laughed again and flew through the window, breaking the glass and getting away a second time. THEN the heroes burst through the room, Luigi yelling,

"Alright, Bowser, unhand the princess!" Bowser did nothing.

"Unhand her!" Still frozen. Mimi yelled,

"Give her back, you oversized turtle!" Mario looked at the cage, which was now empty. He went over by Kammy Koopa, who stuttered,

"Wh-what just happened?" Mimi asked,

"What? What happened?" Kammy Koopa blurted out,

"I don't know! Here I was, getting Bowser and the princess betrothed, when the princess suddenly turned into…a ghost! Then, the ghost took the book she -er, he- was carrying and flew out the window! " Luigi gasped,

"A g-g-g-g-ghost?" Mimi also gasped, and yelled,

"Doopliss! Oh my gosh, Doopliss must have knocked out the _real _Peach and tricked me into thinking she was her! Er, _he_ was her!" Luigi asked,

"So, that was Doopliss? And he stole the Light Prognosticus again?"

"I'm afraid so."

So, the heroes sighed and decided to go back to Merlon's house. Mario pulled out the Return Pipe, but Bowser was still frozen. Thoreau grabbed him as the heroes went back to Flipside. They ran back to Merlon's house to tell him the bad news, but when they got there, they saw the princess waiting for them. She asked the dumbstruck heroes,

"Did you honestly expect the Pink Wonder to get captured by _Bowser_?"


	6. Errands of Doopliss

"Even though I had to kiss Bowser, it was totally worth it to see the look on his face!"

Doopliss was running along in the Ancient Forest with the Light Prognosticus and a feeling of accomplishment. Of course, he was now legally married to King Koopa, but his master would be proud of him! Doopliss thought aloud (being naturally bad at keeping thoughts to himself),

"Now that I have this and I've lost Mario's gang, I can go back for the Dark one!" Doopliss looked down at the book he had just stolen and thought aloud again,

"You know…I've been doing all kinds of things to get this book. REALLY weird things! I think I have a right to at least know what it says…" Doopliss opened the book he had married Bowser to obtain and read the introductory page.

"_The Light Prog…Progno…Progticus! By: Merloo, the Fourth Sage. Let those be warned who read this book of its dark counterpart, a text written from the ink of Hell. _**Oh, cool…** _The Dark Progtis is a powerful tome, promising those who read it eternal power. Those belonging to evil should not use this power, and the book should not fall into those evil hands__**. **_**Good thing**__**my master isn't evil, just good at planning.** _However, those who read the Dark Progtis, or even hold its forbidden secrets, will never find happiness. Though the Dark Prognostis wields pure chaos, the power of love can conquer all. This text, written from the ink of light, is a guide to defeating that purest chaos._

"Whoa…this thing is SO cool! But if this intro is right, why would Dimentio want the Dark Progcus in his possession? A guy like Dimentio who's always smiling? Maybe he just doesn't know about its 'ink of hell' or whatever. Maybe I should let him know!" Doopliss opened up a telecommunication chat and said into the blue light that emerged,

"Hey Dimentio!"

"Doopliss? It's a pleasure to talk to you again!"

"You're gonna be SO proud of me, boss – I got the Light Progticus and the heroes have NO idea where I am!"

"Excellent! How difficult a task was that?" Doopliss remembered the charcoal taste of Bowser's puckering lips and responded,

"I don't wanna talk about it. So I read the intro of the Light Prognostis-"

"Prognosticus."

"Right. So I was reading the Progtis Intro, and it gave a _pretty _strong warning about the _Dark_ Progtis. It said that whoever reads it or even holds on to it will never find happiness."

"That's not entirely true. Everyone I know that has read the Dark Prognosticus has become insane. Insanity can be fun at time."

"You become insane? Then why do you want it!"

"Don't worry; I know what I'm doing. I still require that book, and failure to retrieve it will be what makes you never find happiness." Doopliss was shocked at how happy Dimentio sounded, even when saying something like that. The shapeshifter replied,

"Okay, if you say so…I'll go get it." Dimentio warned,

"That is a wise idea, but do NOT read the Dark Prognosticus as you did the Light one. Even _starting_ that book could easily turn you insane with the promises of power it holds."

"Oh, I'll be careful, then! Can I keep reading the Light Pro-"

"Prognosticus? Sure."

"Alright! Oh, by the way, how are those sirens I sent you?"

"Beldam's an evil lunatic and Marilyn's an idiot; just what I need. Your service to me is unparalleled!" Doopliss asked,

"What about the third sister? Didn't she-" Just then, Doopliss heard a roar from somewhere behind the trees. He blurted out,

"Oh, shoot! That was Bowser!" Dimentio repeated,

"Bowser? I thought you said they didn't know your location."

"They don't – and I better make sure it stays that way! Ciao!"

"Ciao!"

After hearing another roar from Bowser, Doopliss ended the telecommunication and ran away as fast as he could. The group of heroes, oblivious to his whereabouts, was wandering through the forest again. Bowser roared another fire blast and raced ahead of the others (even making Dashell jealous), yelling,

"When I find that shapeshifting freak, I'm gonna take off that goofy hat of his and shove it through his skull!" Mimi said,

"Calm down, Bowser! You're only _married_ to the guy!" Bowser mumbled,

"Why does the Mushroom Kingdom have to be so advanced and allow our marriage…?"

The Koopa King was quite upset being married to a guy. He didn't care that he was adventuring with Mario and the goody two-shoe heroes, something he never wanted to do again (except for the dessert rewards, of course). The only thing he wanted to do was to find Doopliss and become a widow by any means necessary. And if Merlon wanted the book Doopliss was holding so badly, then he could have it.

Even though Doopliss was far ahead of the heroes, he was unintentionally leaving clues as to where he was running. Both Tiptron and General O'Chunks were skilled at tracking prey; O'Chunks trained with a squad of Little Mousers in the tracking arts when he was a general, and Tiptron was just plain useful. Together, they could find discrepancies in the forest floor like snapped twigs and crumpled leaves. Unfortunately, Doopliss floated most of the time, so the robot and general were mostly guesstimating. The two guesstimators said,

"On account of Doopliss' levitating tendencies, the track is incredibly hard to follow…"

"Eye, dis be 'arder don a concrete fruit cake!"

The heroes pressed on and followed a vague trail of broken floor decoratings that seemed to be moving in an aimless pattern. As they continued pursuing it, the trail became more and more unusual. Some of the sticks were burned instead of crushed and tiny piles of ash started to appear. Eventually, they passed by a few trees that were burnt to the ground. Tiptron examined one of those trees and concluded,

"The bark still feels warm and some of the scorch marks are still fresh…this tree couldn't have been set on fire more than fifteen minutes ago…" Mimi added,

"It couldn't have been a forest fire. Then there'd be a lot more damage!" Bowser bragged,

"It couldn't have been MY fire or else the whole **forest** would be burnt to cinders!" Peach asked,

"So, is Doopliss setting off fires? But fires leave such an obvious trail behind!" Tiptron responded,

"He could have copied Bowser and is setting fires for fun…he doesn't seem like the type to think ahead. But if he needs a speedy getaway, why Bowser…?" Bowser shot back,

"Hey, I can be quick!" Peach scolded,

"Oh, hush, Bowser!"

"Sorry, Peach…"

"It's 'The Pink Wonder' now!"

"I wish I had put you in that cage instead of Doopliss."

Mario interrupted the divorcees and their bickering with an exclamation mark. The red plumber noticed a shadow in the distance ahead of them. He ran towards it, thinking it was their escapee, but realized as he got closer that it wasn't Doopliss at all - it was Vivian, the Shadow Siren. Vivian saw Mario, exclamation marked and asked,

"Mario! Is that you?" She glided over to Mario, kissed him on the cheek, and continued, "Mario, it's so good to see you again! It's been…three years, right?" Peach saw the shadow siren (kissing Mario, much to her displeasure) and told the other heroes,

"We weren't following Doopliss. We were following an old friend instead!" O'Chunks seemed angry with himself as Vivian continued,

"I can't believe I get to see you again! …At least I saw some old friends today…" Peach could tell there was something unusual in her voice, and thusly asked,

"Is there something wrong, Vivian?" Vivian answered,

"My sisters are gone!" Peach exclamation marked and repeated her statement as a question,

"Beldam and Marilyn are gone?"

"Yes! So, I was at the Twilight Town Market buying some Life Shrooms like Beldam wanted me to. There was only one left in stock, so I bought it and went back home. But when I got back…our house was burned to the ground!" Vivian sat down and started sobbing, Peach comforting her. She continued on through tears,

"I don't know if it was a fire or an explosion or what, but when I got there…my sisters _weren't _there!" Peach said,

"That's **terrible**!"

"I'm not sure if my sisters are gone missing, or gone…_gone_. So, I'm looking for them in this Ancient Forest just to make sure. Beldam may have blamed a villager for what happened and left for a new home – she's been much nicer lately, but something like that might make her go back on old habits." Peach asked,

"Is Twilight Town near here?"

"Yes, it's right on the south-east edge of here, actually. Right above Twilight Trail." She cried a few more tears and continued,

"I know they're probably…dead…but I won't give up yet! …If only I had given Beldam the Life Shroom she wanted **before** what happened! It wouldn't have done them much good to have only one, but it would have been something. If I had gone to the market sooner, then there would probably be three Life Shrooms left in stock, and I would have been home before the incident…" Peach comforted the siren,

"Don't blame yourself for what happened. It's not your fault!" Mimi added,

"Yeah…Vivian! _Her name's Vivian, right?_ **You** didn't blow up the house!"

"I know…you're right. Thank you, Peach and…"

"Mimi."

"Peach and Mimi! Thank you." She looked back at Mario and added,

"Thank you too, Mario."

Vivian kissed Mario a second time and set back out into the forest, off to try and find her sisters again. Peach was a little irritated at Vivian, but she still felt sorry for her. Once she left, the heroes embarked to find their escapee. Luigi gave a thumbs-up to the lipstick kiss on his brother's cheek, but then put his hand down when it looked like Peach was about to rip it off. Luigi mumbled to himself,

"I liked the old, non-heroic Peach better…" Mimi asked Peach,

"How did you know her, anyway?" Peach explained,

"I met her in the Palace of Shadows." Mimi responded,

"The Palace of Shadows? I think I've heard of that place…the one with the ancient demon or whatever? What were you doing there?" Peach paused, so Bowser answered,

"She was captured by some alien king thing." Mimi said,

"She was captured? …Okay, that makes sense." Peach added,

"Yes, but the _Pink Wonder _hasn't ever been captured! Me and her have nothing in common!" Mimi thought to herself,

"'Me and her have nothing in common'…did she just use improper grammar?"

While the heroes were in search of Doopliss (and becoming more annoyed with "The Pink Wonder"), the runaway ghost and the Light Prognosticus were still in the Ancient Forest. Doopliss was looking for a secret place to hide his prize. Doopliss had to find a spot that none of the heroes could have access to, even with the use of Dottie. Plus, Mario's flipping ability could give them access to places Doopliss wouldn't think were even possible to hide in. So, Doopliss had to transform into Mario and flip-check every hiding spot he found.

"This cave isn't any good…O'Chunks could move that boulder out of the way and they'd catch me in a dead end. I could make a tree house…nah, too obvious."

Doopliss ignored the cave he was by and kept walking. No matter what secluded location he could squeeze into, the heroes would know and get the Light Prognosticus from him. He didn't want to get Dimentio angry, even if he _was _dead. He knew Dimentio was a master of planning, and if he was dedicated to escaping death, he would.

The ghost continued his search for a perfect hiding space when he found a patch of thick shrubs. Doopliss jumped in the middle of them, and after crushing the life out of some poison ivy (taking one damage), he concluded,

"This spot is perfect! Nothing suspicious about a couple of shrubs in the middle of an otherwise-blank field!"

Doopliss looked out of his new 'perfect spot' to see a shadow far in the distance. After straining his eyes, he realized that the shadow was a silhouette of Mario. He ducked down, but the figure's head turned towards him.

"Darn it! Mario found me! Why isn't he with the other heroes, anyway?"

The figure ran to Doopliss and stood directly above him. Doopliss trembled out of his shrub patch to look, but the figure wasn't Mario. It was literally a shadow, a pitch-black version of the red plumber he had mistaken her for. Doopliss asked,

"…Mario?" The mysterious figure corrected,

"No, my name is Shadoo."

"Shadoo? Who are you, and why do you look like a black version of Mario? Not that black versions are worse or anything, but how do you have his exact shape?"

"I copied his form. You see, I'm a shapeshifter."

"You're a shapeshifter? No way! So am I! Watch!" Doopliss then turned into the same form Shadoo was copying, only in color, and said,

"See, look! I'm you! Well, I'm Mario! We're Mario!"

"So I can tell." Doopliss then turned into Peach and said,

"I used this form to trick Bowser into marrying me! Cool, huh?"

"…_Very _impressive."

"Thanks! Wait, when did you meet and copy Mario?"

"I fought him back in the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials."

"Flopside? I've been to Flipside, in this dainty princess form, but not Flopside. What's it like?"

"The exact opposite of Flipside. There was a dungeon there deep beneath the city, more like a prison, really…and I was thrown in there."

"Really? Why?"

"After one thousand years of waiting in solitude, I fought Mario, Luigi, Bowser and the princess you're copying-"

"Copying well, right?"

"Right. I fought that group of heroes, and they defeated me. However, a pipe dropped down and escorted them back to the surface. They thought I was dead, but I actually copied Dottie and hid by a treasure chest. The pipe was still there after they left, so I snuck out."

"Wait, was Dottie that tiny-afying pixl that was with them?"

"Er, yes. So, I escaped from that wretched prison and am now here."

"That's so cool!" Doopliss turned back into his normal form and asked, "So, what are you doing now?"

"…Nothing, really."

"Do you wanna be friends?"

"Friends? Uh, I suppose…"

"Awesome! What shapeshifting games should we create and then play? We could play rock, paper, scissors by actually transforming into them! There aren't any scissors here, but we could just play with that rock over there and the paper in my book!"

"Rock, paper? I don't think that would quite work…how about a different game?"

"You know of one?" Shadoo smirked (unbeknownst to Doopliss since she was pitch-black) and answered,

"Yes I do; it's called 'Darkness'. For it to work, you need to copy me and obtain my pitch-black appearance."

"Alright!" Before Doopliss could copy Shadoo, a second shadow approached them. It was Vivian. She looked at the shapeshifting ghost next to a shadow of Mario - a familiar sight. Vivian scolded,

"Doopliss? I can't believe you copied Mario again! Didn't you learn your lesson the first time?" Doopliss said,

"What? No, that's not Mario!" Vivian used her Fiery Jinx on the two of them, knocking them both to the ground, and yelled,

"Return him to his form at once…please."

Before Doopliss could even get up, Shadoo ran away from the two of them. Vivian tried to go after her, but Doopliss blurted out,

"That's not Mario! It's not it's not it's not!"

"Then who is it?"

"A random pure-black shapeshifter that I just met two minutes ago!"

"…"

"It was!"

"And what was that book he was running away with?"

"A book? He didn't have a…oh shoot." Doopliss looked at his empty hand, then at the fleeing Shadoo, then at Vivian, and yelled,

"AFTER HER!" Doopliss started running after the shapeshifter, but Vivian stopped him and said,

"Here, let me help!"

Vivian used her veil powers to go underneath the earth and quickly glided in front of Shadoo. She reappeared and used a Shade Fist on her, knocking her to the floor. Doopliss caught up to them and huffed,

"Cool!" Shadoo was down, but wasn't out. She quickly transformed into a dark version of Vivian, grabbed the Light Prognosticus from the forest floor and used Veil. While underground, she took the form of Luigi she had copied in the Pit of 100 Trials and Super Jumped through the earth (while underneath Vivian.) Vivian was nearly knocked out as Shadoo landed back on the ground, Prognosticus still in hand. Doopliss yelled,

"Hey buddy! That's not what friends are for!"

"Friends? We aren't friends!"

"But didn't we have fun together? Remember, just the two of us?"

"That was for two minutes!"

Shadoo then copied Doopliss' form and head butted Vivian (thusly knocking her out). She told the other shape shifter,

"The only way you'll be able to compete is to copy me. You won't defeat me, but you'll have a better chance!"

"Then maybe I will!" Before Doopliss could copy Shadoo, Vivian regained consciousness using the Life Shroom she was carrying. She said, with only 10 HP supporting her,

"It's no use, Doopliss. You can't beat your equal."

"Yeah…yeah, you're right." Shadoo scowled (unbeknownst to the others there since they couldn't see her face) and mocked,

"Good luck, Doopliss!" Shadoo sped off with the Light Prognosticus in hand, but this time, Vivian was still too weak to chase after her. Doopliss stayed behind to make sure that Vivian was alright. By this time, Shadoo was far ahead of him, as was the book Doopliss needed. He helped Vivian off of the ground and she said,

"Thanks, Doopliss…say, you seem a lot nicer than when I fought you at Creepy Steeple."

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the flattering, but I need that book!" Doopliss groaned and sat down where Vivian was. He explained,

"I was getting that book for my master. If I don't have it, he's gonna kill me!"

"I didn't know you had a master of your own. Where is he?"

"In the Underworld."

"…I see."

"I know it seems weird to obey a master's commands when he's dead…wow that _does _seem weird when you say it out loud…but he's a really nice guy! And he's planning to escape death!"

"Is that even possible without the immediate use of a Life Shroom?"

"If anyone could do it, he can! But, he told me to get the Light and Dark Progticus for him, or else he'll **kill** me!" Vivian chose to ignore his logic as he continued, "Say, where are your sisters, anyway? All this talk about masters killing me reminds me of Beldam-no offense." Suddenly, Vivian sat down next to Doopliss and started sobbing. Doopliss exclamation marked and asked,

"Whoa, what's wrong?" Vivian wouldn't answer him.

"Where are your sisters?"

"…They're with your master."

"Beldam and Marilyn know my master?"

"No, I mean they're in the same_ place _as him."

"So…"

"Dead! My sisters are dead!" Vivian started bawling.

"Oh! Oh. Sorry..." Vivian started crying into Doopliss's chest (which Doopliss didn't mind all that much) and continued on as best as she could,

"I'm not even really sure if they're dead or not! I was at the market and when I returned out house was burned down and I couldn't find them anywhere!"

"Oh, I'm really sorry…"

"That's why I'm in the Ancient Forest. I'm looking for them, in case they decided to find another place to live."

Doopliss wouldn't tell her this, but he kinda wanted her sisters to die for a while now. Beldam was nasty, cruel and much less attractive than Vivian was. He had no regrets killing her and Marilyn. Of course, he played dumb so Vivian wouldn't become suspicious of him, and was quite good at it (_being_ dumb helps, of course). Besides, killing Vivian's sisters is what led to her to travel with him. The siren said,

"I know you don't like them that much, but I love them! They're my sisters, and I want to be with them!" Doopliss said,

"Alright, I'll help you find Marilyn and that witch - er, Beldam. But I still need to get the Light Prognos that Shadoo took from me!" Vivian offered,

"Well, since we're both looking for someone in the Ancient Forest, why don't we look together?"

"I **like** that idea! I mean, uh, that sounds...good!"

Vivian smiled and got up to start searching with him. They followed where Shadoo ran off, but she was definitely long gone. Neither of them was good at tracking like Tiptron and O'Chunks, so they were mostly wandering around in hopes of finding something promising. They had to move slowly since Vivian was still at only 10 HP. She broke the ice and asked,

"So what was your master like?

"My master? You mean Di – the dead one? Oh, he's a really neat guy! He's always trying some way to…make life easier for us."

"How so?" Knowing very well that Vivian was on the side of good, Doopliss didn't want to say that Dimentio tried to destroy all worlds. Just to be safe, he didn't even tell her what his master's name was. But he pretty much told her everything else he knew about him.

"He was a master of manipulating, and could always find a way to get what he wanted."

"Sounds a lot like Beldam…when did you meet him?"

"When I was made – he created me! I don't know exactly how, but my first memory is of him telling me that he made me to be his servant."

"Sounds a lot like the Shadow Queen."

"Actually, he created me around the same time that the Shadow Queen appeared."

"Really?"

"Yeah! When I was created, Di – de master of mine talked to me for a few minutes, and then we saw the Shadow Queen attacking the area that was once Rougeport. The Shadow Queen was the one who made you and your sisters, right?"

"Yes, she did. She created us only two weeks after she had appeared – by that time, she already had full control of Rougeport and many areas neighboring it."

"That means we're practically the same age!"

"Wow, I guess you're right!"

They both laughed, but Doopliss' smile abruptly ended when he saw a little blue light appear. The voice sounding from it said,

"Doopliss? Are you there?" Vivian asked,

"What was that?" Doopliss panicked,

"Oh, it's PROBABLY NOTHING! Nothing at all!" Vivian said,

"I thought I heard someone calling your name. And what is that blue light hovering next to you?"

Suddenly, they both heard another calling noise. Only this time, the noise wasn't from Dimentio – it was from Luigi. The heroes had caught up to Doopliss without even realizing it, since they kept accidentally following Vivian's trail instead of his. And now their trails have intertwined. Doopliss panicked as the blue telecommunicating light turned off, but then had an idea. He told Vivian in a fake-surprised voice,

"Oh, hey, it's Mario's gang! Why don't you go say hi?"

"Don't you want to come with? I'm sure they won't attack you or anything."

"No, I've got to…uh…use the bathroom anyway!"

"Um, okay…don't worry; I won't tell them that you're here." Vivian glided through the ground to reach the heroes again, while Doopliss thought aloud,

"Okay, she was grossed out by my comment, but it worked!" Just then, the blue light flashed again and Dimentio's voice echoed,

"Doopliss, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just couldn't talk at the moment. We should really work out a signal for this type of thing."

"Later. Anyways, have you obtained the Dark Prognosticus yet?" Doopliss looked towards his empty hand, and stuttered,

"…So about that signal-"

"I asked you a question, Doopliss."

"…Can you do that thing where you say 'And I appear like a bl-"

"Doopliss, answer the question. Have you the Dark Prognosticus yet or not? It's fine if you don't; I just feel like checking up on your progress."

"Yeah, about that…I kinda don't have the other one anymore, either…" Dimentio sighed, and asked without ever raising his voice,

"The heroes took it from you again? Now that it was stolen, they'll guard it much more carefully, you know."

"Actually, someone else took it. Her name was…Shadoo, I think." This time, Dimentio spoke a little more urgently,

"Shadoo? Did she have a pitch-black appearance?"

"_Many _pitch-black appearances!"

"Oh…I threw her in the Pit of 100 Trials a millennium ago."

"You mean when you created me?"

"Very shortly after. Doopliss, listen to me carefully. Shadoo will bring no good to our mission. Under no circumstance should you tolerate her presence, and NEVER, EVER copy her form!"

"Why?" Before Dimentio could answer him, Vivian interrupted the conversation and glided next to Doopliss in the shadows again. Doopliss said,

"Oh, hi, Vivian!" The telecommunication light was turned off by Dimentio after Doopliss spoke. Dimentio knew that he was with Vivian. "So, how was talking to Mario again?"

"I talked to them right before I ran into you, actually. And they said that they were looking for something."

"…Looking for what?"

"A white book. Wasn't that the one that Shadoo took from you?"

"Oh, uh-"

"Peach told me that the book was stolen from them. Doopliss, why did you have it?" Doopliss stuttered,

"Well, I was…actually, I was getting the book _for _them!"

"Didn't you say that your master needed it?"

"That's because my master is – King Toadstool! I'm fighting for the Mushroom Kingdom now!"

"But you said your master was dead. And that he created you a millennium ago."

"That was my – _first _master. Today's King Toadstool is my second master, Beldam being my third. But my first master was the great ancestor of the current king!"

"Really? Why didn't Mario know about that?"

"Because I serve them in secret! I'm secretly helping them find the Light Progis! That's why I don't want them to find me – cause it's a secret!"

"Oh, that's really nice of you! You've really made a 180 since Twilight Town!"

"…So…"

"You've really changed! For the better!"

"Oh, yeah, totally!"

"So, we should go retrieve the King's book back from Shadoo."

"Oh, yeah, totally!"

The two of them ventured onward, Vivian growing closer to the shape shifter. Doopliss enjoyed this, but couldn't help thinking about his lie. Sure, it may have tricked Vivian into searching with him, and sure, it may give him more of a chance to hit on her, but for how long? One slip-up and Vivian would know that he made the entire thing up. Doopliss didn't know how long he had before she found out, or how long it would take to make her his girlfriend, but he did know that once she found out, he would have to get rid of her. One way or another, she would have to go.


	7. The Pure Heart

While Dimentio's servant lost the Light Prognosticus, he himself had just lost Luvbi. The white Pure Heart teleported Luvbi to her father's temple in The Overthere, which surprised her AND the Shadow Sirens taking her captive (Dimentio, however, not as much). Upon her return, Luvbi discovered that her parents were waiting for her, and exclamation marked when they found her again. Queen Jaydes said,

"Luvbi, THERE you are! Your father and I have been worried sick about you – again!" Luvbi answered, this time scared by more than her parents,

"I am sorry mother, but-"

"Sorry? You vanish with the Pure Heart and by SOME MIRACLE return to unlife, only to run off again? You had barely reappeared for ten minutes before running off, and all you have to say is 'sorry'!"

"Well, I am _trying _to tell thee-"

"Do you have any idea how worried me and your father were? We sent out Whibbi, the three sages, the three hags, a small **army** of D-Men _and_ the Underchomp to find you!" Dorguy the Third interrupted,

"Yeah, my Underchomp's not supposed to be used to track down runaway teenagers!" Jaydes shot back,

"Silence, Dorguy!"

"Sorry…"

"Now I have to call them ALL back and tell them that you're safe! Those D-Men are getting paid overtime for this!" Luvbi stammered,

"But…they art dead, so-"

"I don't want any comebacks from you, missy! You're in for a grounding so deep you'll **wish **you could die and go to another world!"

"You're not letting me ta-"

"Enough!" Before Queen Jaydes could continue her lecture, Grambi stepped in and said,

"Honey, let her talk. We should at least hear what she has to say." The queen paused for a moment, and eventually agreed,

"…Fine. But you better have a good reason!" Luvbi sighed, cleared her throat, and explained,

"It is true that I hath left voluntarily, yet only for a small time! I intended to take a short walk across the gloomy landscapes of below and nothing more. However, upon my travels in the melancholy-stricken underworld, I encountered Dimentio."

"…Dimentio?" Queen Jaydes suddenly realized her error as Luvbi continued,

"Upon my encounter, Dimentio captured me while an ugly, shadowy, hideous subordinate of his named Beldam froze me in an ice casing. They teleported us to yonder lair, when the jester…" Jaydes pressed,

"What?"

"…When that jester told me how much thou hath missed me…"

"Well he was right."

"But how couldst he tell?"

"How did he know that we missed you? As long as he knew that we are your parents and you ran away from home, it should've been obvious." Luvbi continued,

"So Dimentio, Beldam, and another shadowy pig named Marilyn brought me to their lair; a secluded cave not far below the surface. This second shadow also obtained magical feats of strength, only instead of icy powers; she wielded the power of lightning. She also wielded a much larger gut than the others, especially so compared to mine. Anyways, the gut-wielding shadow charged lightning to striketh me, when suddenly, a flash filled the room." Grambi asked,

"A flash? Like the flashes that filled the worlds when the Chaos Heart was defeated?" Jaydes asked,

"Or did you take my cell phone without asking again?" Luvbi answered,

"No…t'was the Pure Heart. The Pure Heart beated from mine chest, growing rapidly in pace. Suddenly, it hath emanated a light that blinded mine foes and teleported me hither." Jaydes gasped, and then looked at her worried husband. Luvbi could see a sense of concern in their eyes. After exchanging glances, the queen told her daughter in a surprisingly passive tone,

"So you were captured? …This is exactly why I don't want you running off to places without us knowing…" Dorguy the Third added,

"Well, at least she's home safe and sound, right?" Queen Jaydes regained her anger and snapped at the door,

"If it wasn't for the Pure Heart, she would be zapped full of lightning right now! And that wicked Dimentio is still out there - I can't **believe** I forgot to judge him! He is a VERY dangerous influence, and must be kept away from all the other Shaydes!" She patted the key to the Labyrinth of Eternity she had with her at all times and concluded,

"Dimentio must be sent to the Labyrinth immediately. Dorguy, take me to the Underwhere!" Dorguy the Third opened up, and Jaydes briskly walked to her temple. The door closed again, leaving Luvbi and King Grambi in the room. The door muttered sarcastically to Luvbi,

"Thanks for putting in a good word for me…"

Meanwhile, the Queen's once-forgotten target for imprisonment was tidying up the cave as Beldam commanded. Cleaning was not his forte, but since the nagging sisters weren't there, it gave him some time to think alone. He knew that the only way to escape death was through the King and Queen of the Underworld, yet the Floro Sprouts he possessed couldn't possess them. The rulers were omnificent in power, experienced in practice and serious in dedication. The only major flaw that Dimentio could find in them was their love for their daughter. Maybe he was thinking of this all wrong…maybe a brainwashed _Luvbi _could play a major part of his plan.

A Floro Sprout _could _be planted inside of Luvbi, but her parents would instantly destroy it. It takes three hours for the Floro Sprout to grow, and even if one was activated in full swing, Grambi and Jaydes' magic would be capable of destroying it in a heartbeat. He _could _kidnap Luvbi again and let it grow while she is in captivity, but the Pure Heart would return her home like last time. Despite any difficulty, the jester was dedicated in his task. No matter how hard his task seemed, Dimentio was an expert on twisting the power of love to his favor.

While lost in his thoughts, the two Shadow Sirens returned from the Fountain of Health. All of the injuries they had obtained from the Pure Heart were healed, while Dimentio still had a few scratches on him. Beldam inspected their lair and said,

"Fine work, I suppose. Now that that incident is behind us, what should we do? What **is **there to do in The Underwhere?" Before she could continue (or before she could insult Dimentio, which was bound to happen soon enough), they heard footsteps above their cave. High heels, by the sound of it. Marilyn was about to go see who it was, but Dimentio stopped her. Marilyn was confused until the person above them sounded,

"It doesn't seem like Dimentio is here…where could he have gone off to? Ugh, searching by myself is useless. **D-MEN**!"

The Shadow Sirens knew who it was, and they all hid in case she discovered the entrance to their hideout (Sirens using Veil and Dimentio using his invisibility). After hiding, they heard more footsteps marching above them. There must have been about 20 D-Men marching above them. One of the marching D-Men asked in a gruff voice,

"What is it, your Highness?" Jaydes responded,

"It's somewhat embarrassing, but I forgot give Dimentio his final sentence." The D-Men countered,

"But it's Dimentio! Isn't it obvious whether he's good or not?"

"I already know how evil he is, and what he is capable of. That's why his sentence is the Labyrinth of Eternity."

"Alright, then why are we here if you know his sentencing? This _was_ my one day of paid vacation…" Jaydes answered,

"I have called you here because Dimentio is missing. While I was away to visit Luvbi, Dimentio has escaped his sentencing – and had kidnapped my daughter."

"Is Luvbi alright?"

"Yes, she's perfectly safe now with Grambi. But I need help finding Dimentio, and there is probably a backup of newly fallen souls waiting to be judged. One of you, contact Yebbi. He has the power to judge souls in my absence, and I need to put Dimentio in the Labyrinth." The same D-Men asked,

"Yebbi has your powers?" Jaydes responded,

"He has all powers I have, of judging souls and where they are sentenced, except for returning souls to the world of the living. Grambi can do that, however. Half of you, go rally up the souls that haven't been judged yet. The rest of you, help me find that wicked jester." One newly hired D-Man, with an obvious sense of newness in his voice, asked,

"Where are the new Shaydes?" Jaydes answered,

"They should all be around the entrance, where...spirits enter from the living. You should be able to tell if they have not been judged yet – confusion, desperation, some hysterical. However, I _do_ know that two newly fallen souls are with Dimentio; Beldam and Marilyn, I believe their names are." A more experienced D-Men asked,

"Do you know their fates as well, my Queen?"

"They belong in The Underwhere, but definitely not Labyrinth material. I'll just give them a scolding for helping the kidnap of my daughter. Threaten to drown them in the River Twygz, or something along those lines. …Actually, I want to check up on Luvbi one more time. So: the half of you D-Men searching for Dimentio with me, come with me to my temple. Wait there while I check on Luvbi. The rest of you, contact Yebbi and find those newly fallen souls. Alright, let's go!"

Half of the D-Men marched off one way while Jaydes and the others marched off another. The three Shadow Sirens came out from hiding, and Beldam shouted,

"'I'll just give them a scolding'?" Marilyn hushed her sister, who yelled back,

"Can you believe that, Marilyn? Dimentio goes to the Labyrinth while we just get a scolding? Or at best, a threatening to be drowned? …What is this 'Labyrinth of Eternity' anyway?" Dimentio answered,

"The Labyrinth of Eternity is a prison where all magical powers are void. Queen Jaydes sends many of the most threatening villains there. Including my brothers…" Beldam yelled,

"So you're gonna be sent to this magical prison of hell while me and Marilyn just get a **scolding**? But we're _amazing _villains, more than _you'll _ever be!" Dimentio was lost in thought again (or – pardon the pun – giving Beldam the cold shoulder), so Beldam slapped him and continued,

"Listen to me while I'm talking, Dimentio! Argh, you're even more frustrating than Vivian and Doopliss combined! …Hello? Are you seriously still not responding?" Dimentio looked at Beldam, grinned even wider than he always does, and said slyly,

"I think I know how we can escape."

While Jaydes was searching for Dimentio, her husband and daughter remained in Grambi's Temple. Dorguy the Third went dormant after grumbling to himself about Luvbi breaking the promise they made. Grambi asked,

"Art thou sure that thou art alright?" Luvbi answered,

"Yea, father. But…what doseth the Pure Heart mean? Why is it still a part of me? I am glad that it saved mine life, but still!" Her father took a deep breath, sighed, and explained,

"Thine mother and I were worried that this would hath happened. The Pure Heart is the embodiment of love's divine power. It protecteth all good things from evil, all light from darkness. The Ancients hath created it long ago to quell the powers of evil, as they hath done recently to Dimentio. And although it hath been used on Dimentio, it is still a part of thee. The power of love can never fully be 'used up'."

"So, the power of love hath protecteth me from Dimentio and his pug-ugly crones?"

"Exactly."

"But I hath been in danger before, and the Pure Heart never flashed me to safety."

"The Pure Heart was dormant before Mario came along. Now that thine Pure Heart hath been in use against Dimentio, it hath been activated." Although her questions were being answered, Luvbi was even more confused than when they started. She asked,

"So why is this bad? If it protecteth me from harm, why dost thou seem worried?"

"Because thou shalt never live a regular life."

"Father, I _already _live an irregular life! Mine parents are rulers of the Underworld – not to mention I don't even have a car, and I am thousands of years old!"

"I know; thou keeps reminding me. Anyway, thou were overprotected because thou art the Pure Heart – and because thou art my daughter, of course." He flashed a smile and continued, "Once thou hath returneth from the Heroes, I – we – thought that thou could have some more freedoms."

"Why won't thou letst me?"

"_We_ are fine with it, but the Pure Heart may interfere with that. If you get in any sort of danger, the Pure Heart shalt react. The more it reacts in situations of danger, the less dormant it becomes."

"…What doseth thou mean?"

"Thine Pure Heart grows stronger with each use. When it grows stronger, it will react in situations with less danger than the time before. And it might not know a limit."

"So it could potentially reach a point wherein it reacts for someone yanking mine luscious hair or a ball hitting mine gorgeous face?"

"That is what thine mother and I are worried about. If thou art not protected from the Underwhere, then thine Pure Heart could become so active that thou cannot leave the house without teleporting back home within five minutes."

"But what danger is up here, in the Overthere?"

"Nothing severe enough to activate the Pure Heart – yet. Incidents in The Underwhere, however, could work your heart to a point of appearing after mild dangers found up here. Because of this, thou must never go into The Underwhere ever again. Not with me or thine mother or anyone." Luvbi's posture collapsed as she said,

"…I can't believe it. You and mine mother protected me to protect the Pure Heart, and now that the Pure Heart's purpose has been served, MORE liberties of mine are taken away?"

"I am sorry, Luvbi, but that is how it has to be! If thou were to go into The Underwhere again, thine Pure Heart could potentially overload."

"But…but…" On that note of desperation and depression, Queen Jaydes returned to the temple. She saw the miserable look in Luvbi's eyes, and then the solemn look in Grambi's eyes. She asked her husband quietly,

"You told her about the Pure Heart, didn't you."

"Yea, I did." Jaydes knelt beside her daughter and sad,

"I'm sorry; but your father and I think the same thing. We both believe that the Pure Heart could very well make your life miserable. You **do **know we set these rules for your wellbeing, right?"

"Right…" The Queen patted Luvbi's head, went towards Dorguy the Third, and said,

"Well, I hope you'll feel better soon. I have to go find Dimentio – there's no telling what evil he may do. See you later, Grams." Queen Jaydes left the temple through Dorguy the Third, again leaving Luvbi in Grambi's care. Grambi went to comfort her daughter, but she ran off to her room instead. Grambi woke Dorguy the Third up and instructed,

"Dorguy, make sure that my daughter **stays **in the Overthere. I mean it now more than ever."

"But what if I'm sleeping?"

"Stay awake, then. …You _do _want your promotion, right?"

"Oh, yes sir! Alright, I'll make sure she never goes to The Underwhere!"

Meanwhile, in the Luvbi-forbidden realm of the Underwhere, Dimentio had just figured out a possible plan. Neither Queen Jaydes nor any D-Men were nearby to overhear the three Shadow Sirens talk. Beldam was curious of Dimentio's idea and still angry at Jaydes, so he asked,

"Does it involve killing that wretched queen?" The grinning jester answered,

"You of all people should be used to wretched queens, Beldam. But no, we aren't killing her – we will be using her. She and her husband are the only two ways to escape death, and I know how we can use the Floro Sprouts to control them." Beldam said (with confusion, and thusly anger),

"I thought you said that they could magically kill the Floro Sprouts!"

"Let me finish. First, we plant a Floro Sprout inside of _Luvbi_. We hold her captive, and allow for the Floro Sprout to grow to full size. Once it is ready to activate, we teleport to the Labyrinth of Eternity."

"The prison that Queen Jaydes SHOULD put me and Marilyn in?"

"Yes, that one. As I said, all magical powers are stripped while within. We teleport outside of the vast Labyrinth, concealing Luvbi in the shadows, and somehow summon the two Rulers of Death. They open the Labyrinth in preparation to sentence me inside, when I interrupt by turning on the Floro Sprout inside of Luvbi." Beldam repeated,

"I thought you said they would destroy it in an instant!" Dimentio answered,

"They'd be too distracted by that pesky emotion they call love. So, the Floro Sprout activates, and Luvbi runs into the Labyrinth. Even their great magic won't be able to kill the Floro Sprout once she is within. Their paternal instincts will kick in, unfortunately for them, and they will run into the Labyrinth after her. I will run in, plant Floro Sprouts inside both of the rulers' craniums, and run out. We lock them within, and simply wait again for the Floro Sprouts to grow to full size."

"If no magic works inside of the Labyrinth, then how will the Floro Sprouts grow?"

"Ah, the power of the Floro Sprouts is not magical – it becomes a physical part of your brain. Magic is only used to activate it, and is never used at any other time. After the Floro Sprouts are given time to grow, we open the door and let the three of them out. Once they have exited the Labyrinth, we can possess them, and then we shall get the Continues we so rightfully deserve." Beldam cackled and said,

"That sounds like it will actually work, Dimentio!" Dimentio added,

"I haven't even mentioned the best part. Since the commanders of life are at our disposal, once we go to the Worlds of the Living, we can kill all of those who oppose us."

"Wait…we'll have control of ALL life?"

"Yes we will! Mario, the X-Nauts – forever dead in a heartbeat. We can even stick Mario in the Labyrinth if we choose to." Beldam praised,

"I can't believe I'm saying this to a third member, but thank you!"

"Happy to be of service. But first, in preparations for our plan, I need the key to the Labyrinth of Eternity. I need for you and Marilyn to go locate it. I believe that Jaydes carries one with her." Beldam thought for a while, then responded,

"I'm not fond of taking orders from minions, but if you say it's necessary." With that, Beldam and Marilyn veiled off to find Queen Jaydes and the Labyrinth Key. Dimentio laughed in delight of his idea and thought,

"Escaping death AND ruling all worlds…this idea will accomplish both of my goals simultaneously! Once I figure out a way to get around Luvbi's Pure Heart, my plan can be set into action. Hmn…having Jaydes and Grambi at my side means I won't have a need the Prognosticus tomes. Doopliss left his so-called acting "career" and is on the perilous journey I sent him on for nothing. Oh well. I'd still like them for my collection. I'll let him continue his feeble quest, just so long as he doesn't copy Shadoo. If Shadoo becomes a nuisance, then I may have him go into hiding. I could let him return to the stage…no, Shadoo could easily track him, then.

"Having the universe at my disposal will be excellent; no heroes to try and stop me, no crones trying to command me…just me, Doopliss, and my two brothers. Well, I _did_ promise eternal paradise to the Floro Sapiens in exchange for the Floro Sprouts…I suppose I can revive them as well. It doesn't matter who I keep alive; just as long as my brothers are free while Mario's group, the Pixl Queen and the shadow sirens are in the Labyrinth. That witch deserves as severe a punishment as can be possibly bestowed to someone. Forever imprisoning those that defy you and preserving only those that you choose to keep the garbage they call life…that's all someone can ask, isn't it?"


	8. Endless Travels

Once Vivian had time to get her health up, she and Doopliss picked up the Light Prognosticus chase. This meant that the chase would be even harder for Mario and his gang. They continued following Doopliss' trail, although it was actually Vivian's, using Tiptron and O'Chunks' expertise. Shortly after Vivian and Doopliss left for Shadoo, Tiptron found the shrub that Doopliss had been hiding in. The mini-battle between Doopliss and the two shadowy beings left some scorch marks where Fiery Jinx and Shade Fist had been used. Tiptron informed,

"It appears we are still on Vivian's trail, not Doopliss's…this task could prove to be very difficult…" Luigi said,

"Yeah, Tiptron's right." The computer pixl responded,

"You mean _Tippi_ is right…" Luigi continued,

"Maybe we should go get help from Merlon. The Merlon from Rougeport really helped me on my adventure three years back; so much so that I have him a 20% discount on my book!" Mimi agreed with Luigi (as she tended to do a lot lately), but Peach countered,

"No way! I don't want to resort to using the fortune teller! That's the sissy's way out!" They were all shocked Peach would speak in such a non-dignified manner, but Bowser ignored this and said,

"For once I agree with Peach!" Peach shot back,

"It's 'The Pink Wonder' now, remember?"

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"You're a different kind of wonder, Peach."

"It's 'you're a different kind of wonder, _The Pink Wonder_' to you, sir!"

Mario sighed and pulled out the Return Pipe. Despite Peach's efforts, he used the item to return the group to Flipside Tower. Peach tried to go back to the Ancient Forest, along with the stubborn Bowser and O'Chunks, but the other teammates managed to get them to follow. Of course, Thoreau had to carry Bowser, the other pixls had to carry Peach and Mario had to challenge O'Chunks to a race, but they all ended up in Merlon's house one way or another. Merlon looked up from his crystal ball with intrigue, but saw their empty hands and said,

"I see that the Light Prognosticus is still out of your grasp." Luigi said,

"We need your help, Merlon. Can you show us where Doopliss is?" Merlon answered,

"Of course! That will cost 5 coins." O'Chunks yelled,

"Yer chargin' us? We're goin' outta ar way to get yer Light Prognicus, and yer chargin' us?" Merlon reasoned,

"Well, I still have to make a living! I don't get money just for being a wise sage; you know…alright, I'll try finding Doopliss for free. _I miss my old job at Hogwarts…_"

The wizard sighed (but felt lucky he had been able to charge Mario up until this point), and waved his hands across the crystal ball. Once he did, a green blur started to emanate from within. It was the Ancient Forest. After a few seconds, two unrecognizable figures became distinguishable from within the green haze. One figure was Doopliss, and the other was Vivian. They were both running towards something, but…not from each other. They were travelling as partners! Everyone leaned in to get a better view, since what they saw seemed very unlikely. Merlon asked in disbelief,

"He doesn't have the Light Prognosticus?" Tiptron asked,

"He's travelling with Vivian? But she and Doopliss fought in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, circa 2004, and have not been in any coinciding game since…" Peach added,

"And she's way too good-looking for him anyway!" Mimi shrugged,

"If you like that sort of thing."

Mario knew why Doopliss and Vivian would be travelling together as partners, why they would be friendly towards one another. They both had to put up with Beldam. Besides, it seems like they were both looking for something: Vivian wanted to find her sisters, and Doopliss looked like he was after whoever was in possession of the Prognosticus. Mario explained this, and Merlon said,

"Interesting point, Mario. You know, you really should be more articulate with your ideas! Well, regardless of who Doopliss is travelling with, he does not appear to have the book I am in need of. Nolrem has locked himself up in his house for days studying the Dark Prognosticus; I don't want his exhaustive efforts to be in vain. So, shall I try and see who has the Light Prognosticus?" Bowser cut in,

"If it's free of charge, you can."

"Yes, of course. This one's on the house."

After another money-related sigh and a flick of his wrists, the image inside the crystal ball faded away. Another image started to appear, with a similar greenish color. Only with this image, one figure appeared instead of two. The figure was simply a black blob, but after the image became complete, Peach noticed,

"Mario…that black blob looks like you!" Mario looked at his gut while Bowser added,

"It's Shadoo, the thing from the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials! I thought we killed it! How did she survive?" Merlon wondered,

"Shadoo? I know that name…yes; I've read ancient articles about her, articles from about a millennium ago! It is told that Shadoo suddenly teleported to Flopside one day and started attacking the civilians. She even managed to kill Merlight, the Sage of the Ancients responsible for creating these two flip-flopped cities. My ancestor who resided in Flipside was a powerful sorcerer, and managed to stick her in the Pit of 100 Trials. I've read that some being with dimension-controlling powers helped my ancestor in his task, but I cannot find out whom. Merloo, another Sage of the Ancients, had those powers, but was killed long before Shadoo appeared. Merloo's brother, Marloo, was also killed at the same time. He was the adoptive father of Merlon – the first Merlon, I mean. Marloo was a powerful sorcerer, and was the inventor of the pixls that float amongst us right now." Mimi said, after just having woken up (her not being the only one),

"OMG…**so** bored right now." Merlon concluded,

"A n y w a y s, Shadoo has the Light Prognosticus, so I will need for you to find her instead. You've already taken my crystal ball once before to track down Bowser's Castle, so now you can use it to track Shadoo." Bowser interrupted,

"So THAT'S how you found me! Thanks a lot, Merlon…" The wizard continued,

"It's not as accurate without the use of an experienced wizard, but again, it can point you to Shadoo's general location." Mimi asked,

"If it's not as accurate, then why don't you come with us? It'll be safe!" Bowser added, so as not to be beat,

"Yeah, it'll be safe! After all, _I'm_ in the group!" Merlon responded,

"No, I'm too old for that type of journey. Besides, I have to check up on Nolrem's progress, and Nastasia should be returning from the Marrymore Chapel any minute. You should be able to defeat Shadoo if necessary; you've fought her before, correct?" Bowser said,

"Yeah, we were able to defeat her after going through the ENTIRE Pit of 100 Trials…twice…" Merlon laughed, despite Bowser's anger, and said cheerfully,

"Then it will be easy! Besides, you already have experience in tracking down shapeshifters due to your encounter with Doopliss." Peach said,

"True, but…Shadoo is actually smart..."

"It will be easy, Peac-the Pink Wonder." Bowser whispered to Merlon,

"_Nice save._" Merlon gave the crystal ball to Mario and exclaimed, "Well, good luck on your task – yet again! Farewell!"

The group of heroes left the wizard's house, yet again, in pursuit of the Light Prognosticus. Mario led the way with the crystal ball in hand, and went to the portal that hung above Flipside Tower. Also at this point, Nastasia finally made it back to the Marrymore Chapel, but she strongly wished that she didn't. She had only 256 coins to her name, yet Tom Crook's price for "destroying" the church was 20,000. Too bad her connections with the Beanbean Kingdom fell through once The Void was created or else she could've paid him easily.

Upon her arrival, she noticed that the chapel wasn't the only building demolished; the entire town seemed like it was about to fall apart. Tom Crook went to their arranged meeting spot, ten minutes ahead of schedule (Nastasia was a master organizer, after all), and recognized her in the distance. She recognized him, too, despite the fact that his tie was loose and his sunglasses were missing. Tom ran to Nastasia and begged,

"Nastasia! Please tell me you have the money to rebuild this church! It's the only tourism attraction we have, and now it's ruined!" Nastasia still meant business, regardless of how tattered the man looked, and said,

"So, yeah, you're requesting a _pretty_ large sum. Why is the price so steep?"

"Labor! The church is easy enough to build – heck, the townsfolk could do it if we all pitched in. But they want money!"

"So if I could somehow fix the chapel, my debt to you would be nullified?" Tom Crook answered (always thinking of money, no matter how bad things got),

"I suppose, but that would also cost you a large amount. _And better pay me than some construction workers__…_" Nastasia thought, and said,

"…I hate to do this, but you're kinda making this necessary…"

With a single adjustment of her glasses, Tom Crook suddenly became trapped in a red vortex. He struggled to escape, but eventually, he calmed down and spoke in a monotone voice,

"We shall build you your chapel, Master Nastasia." Nastasia said,

"Uh-hum, that's much better. Love the gusto."

Immediately after Tom Crook's brainwashing, she repeated her actions with all the other civilians in town. Together, they started building the stained glass that was needed. Tom Crook ran up to her and asked,

"What design would you prefer?" Nastasia answered in a heartbeat,

"The same design as you had before – of Count Bleck and Tippi."

"Yes, that was a very popular and beautiful image. The marriage rate spiked after stories of Count Bleck and Tippi first got out." Nastasia adjusted her glasses and said,

"I'm sure it did. Now, get back to work." Tom Crook headed towards the other brain-controlled townsfolk as Nastasia thought,

"Hm…having definite control of these people could majorly increase my work effort ...no wonder Blumiere liked having mindless servants so much. But without him, there's no real task for me to do. There's free time now; time to myself. I hate it. I want to be part of something larger again, something impactful to all worlds. I want to help organize something of greatness. I want him – but I have to move on. He's faded into Oblivion, and there's no possibility of him returning. Even if he could somehow…he's with Timpani now. His dreams have been realized, and all life has been saved because of it. Still…all I have to remember him by is that cursed book and this ruined chapel."

After giving Tom Crook a few more instructions, she headed back for Merlon's house. While she was flying back to the cloud airport near Bowser's Castle (Nimbus Land clouds was the main source of transportation), Doopliss and Vivian were still after the Light Prognosticus. They ran at first, but as the trail grew colder and their feet grew wearier, they started to slow down. Vivian asked,

"So, you've been serving the Mushroom Kingdom for a millennium?" Doopliss answered,

"Yep! I'm a proud member of the Mushroom Kingdom Core! …Go Shrooms!"

"Who was the King Toadstool that created you all those years ago? What was his name?"

"Uh…Dimantro."

"And what was Dimantro like?"

"Oh, he was a _great_ master, so…so…so strict, actually." Doopliss sighed and continued, "He was always bossing me around. He told me before every task I was ordered to do that it's all part of our plan, our plan to rule the universe." Vivian looked at him in confusion. "In peace. Rule the universe in peace. But it was always so long and boring. Most of the time, we were just searching for people to fit some vague description, like a strong, bearded general or a shapeshifting female." Vivian chuckled and said,

"Same with me. When the Shadow Queen gave Beldam the task of reviving her, we couldn't do it alone. We needed to find a group powerful enough to do what we needed, but stupid enough to manipulate." Doopliss was reminded of Dimentio's manipulative nature; tricking Vivian's sisters AND that Count Bleck guy. She continued, "Believe me, it was hard enough finding a group with no knowledge of the Shadow Queen's terrible reign – we ended up using a secret alien race!" Doopliss asked,

"But if the Shadow Queen's spirit was sealed away, why bother doing what she wanted?"

"For the same reason that you're helping Dimantro. Even though I knew she was sealed away, and even though I knew what she wanted wasn't right, she created me. I was still her servant. Besides…what if she was revived by someone else, not by my service to her? Then she wouldn't think too favorably of me when she's off murdering by the billions. I don't even wanna think about it…but I suppose there's nothing to fear now."

Doopliss realized just how similar of a situation Vivian was in. Serving a dead master in case their master returned from death…was that why he was helping Dimentio? Did he quit his acting career and track down the Light Prognosticus just so that he'd feel safe? Well, Dimentio had a far better change of regenerating by himself than the Shadow Queen did. He actually had the ability to explore the underworld and think of a plan, while the Shadow Queen's spirit was simply sealed in a small magical tomb. Besides, if Dimentio regenerated himself using the other two Shadow Sirens and took complete control, then the master of all life would be in his debt. The supreme ruler of everything would have gotten his position through his help! Maybe Vivian felt the same way… the siren added,

"How does serving Dimantro compare to serving my sister?" Doopliss laughed. She persisted, "C'mon, be honest."

"Well…Dimantro didn't ever yell at me…"

"It's fine if you don't like her. But she's changed since Mario defeated my first master. She's a lot nicer to me now…well, at least she was."

Doopliss thought he remembered Dimentio saying that Beldam was an evil lunatic, but maybe he remembered wrong. Maybe Beldam's death made her cranky again – dying tends to do that sort of thing. Regardless of how she was behaving after death, Doopliss was still the one to kill her. No one else knew about it besides Dimentio, right? Just to be safe, he tried to refrain talking about Beldam and Marilyn, although they both had so much to say about the topic. They both had so much in common…

Doopliss knew he had a crush on Vivian, but someone might have seen him

kill the other two sirens. If Vivian somehow found out, she would help Mario track him down. Vivian was nothing but a tool for Dimentio's plan, like her sisters. She would help him until she'd get in the way; then she'd be gotten rid of. This is how it had to be, for Dimentio's success and ruling the world. For Doopliss' safety if Dimentio revived without his help.

While those two and Mario's gang were trying to find Shadoo, Merlon waited for the heroes to return. He already knew many passages of the Light Prognosticus by heart, but there were still so much he had yet to learn. Everyone knew the basic story that it told, but there were so many passages that no one had ever heard of – some possibly even controversial. In addition to studying the Light Prognosticus itself, he tried to learn as much as he could about its history, as well as the history of the Tribe of Ancients. The book he needed so badly was written by Merloo, one of the four Sages of the Ancients. The other three sages were Merlimbis, creator of the Purity Heart, Merlumina, the spirit of Yold Ruins that gave the second Pure Heart to Mario, and Merlight, leader of the sages and creator of Flipside. This knowledge was no substitute for the book itself, however.

Without the Light Prognosticus to study from and the heroes far away, Merlon had nothing to do. Usually at times like this, he could help out one of the townsfolk with some errand they needed to run. But since the Void had just disappeared, all the townsfolk were out celebrating. Plus, the heroes were borrowing his crystal ball, so he couldn't watch TV with it (what else can a wizard do for fun around the house?). So, the wizard headed off for Flopside to check on Nolrem's progress. There was a door built for easy access between the two cities imbedded between dimensions, which anyone could use without need of the magical flipping ability. He knocked on the door that looked like a palette swap of his own and called,

"Nolrem? …Hello, Nolrem?" He tried going in, but the door was locked. "That's odd…wizards' doors are never locked. It's the fortune teller's code!" After knocking a few more times, he heard a strange sort of muttering coming from the other side. It was completely unintelligible and barely audible, but it sounded like Nolrem. "Hello, Nolrem? Are you alright?"

Merlon waited for a minute or so, then gave up and returned to his own place of living. He wondered, "Why doesn't Nolrem take a break from his study? I hope he's not getting too obsessed…oh shoot, I'm missing _Flint Cragley-Cragtrotter_!"

So Merlon waited, television-less, while Mario and the gang hunted after Shadoo. The crystal ball flashed to show their proximity to the target – flashing faster and brighter as they got closer, and flashed slower and dimmer when they got farther away (which perfectly described the crystal ball's flashes at that moment). It was just like back in the Dry Dry Desert, only this time, his target was mobile. He followed the crystal ball as closely as possible, but it still wound up making the group walk in circles. Bowser complained,

"Oh, my aching feet! This is why I prefer sitting in my castle – travelling the landscape is _your _job, Mario! Carrie, can you help?" Instantly, Carrie started carrying the large Koopa. O'Chunks saw this and whined,

"'Ey, Mimi, cin you 'elp out a poor weary general and copy Carrie for me?" Mimi sighed and turned into Carrie for O'Chunks' convenience. Luigi also wanted a ride, but none of the Carries would take him. So, he walked alongside his brother, who was concentrating on the pulsing of the crystal ball. Mario only looked up when he saw the princess, running far ahead of the others. Mario called for Dashell, but realized that Peach had taken him. Luigi called out,

"Hey Peach, wait for the rest of us!" Peach replied,

"The Pink Wonder never waits when evil is on the loose!" Peach took out the Dashell pixl she was concealing while the other heroes took a collective sigh. Tiptron stated,

"We need to match her speed…Mimi, please copy Dashell…" Mimi copied the pixl like Tiptron wanted her to; leaving O'Chunks to fall to the forest floor (Thudley impressed by how much force was in his fall). Thoreau grabbed onto him as the heroes chased after Peach, while the crystal ball's flashing grew dimmer and dimmer. O'Chunks whined,

"Git yer hands offa me…wait, you **are** a hand…well, let go, then!"

O'Chunks was placed on the ground, and he ran with the other heroes in pursuit of Peach, in pursuit of Shadoo. The Pink Wonder searched as she ran across the forest, but there were no signs of their target. The other heroes, besides Tiptron, were too preoccupied in chasing after her to notice anything. Peach wanted to use the crystal ball, but didn't want to go at Mario's cautious pace. So, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, and the charging heroes crashed right into her. The crystal ball flew out of Mario's hand upon impact, and although Peach was knocked to the ground by the plumber, she managed to get up and grab it before anyone else could. Luigi was the second off the ground, being used to falling down a lot, and said,

"Peach, this isn't really helping. You don't need to prove anything! Just stay in Mario's shadow while he finds Shadoo!" The Pink Wonder replied,

"That's easy for _you_ to say, Luigi; you're _used_ to being in Mario's shadow!" Mimi returned to her normal girl form and said,

"You're not being more heroic by making things more difficult for us." Peach offered,

"Then why don't we split up?" O'Chunks finally managed to pull himself up and answered,

"'Ave yeh been touched in deh 'ead? Dis forest is more complex an' interwoven dan an M. C. Esher paintin!" Ignoring O'Chunks' surprisingly sophisticated metaphor, Mario walked over to Peach and stuck out his hand. Peach paused for a moment, sighed, and said,

"You're right, Mario. We need to stick together, and we need all of us to defeat Shadoo again." Mario grabbed for the crystal ball, but Peach held it high above his head, saying,

"But **I'm** leading the way!"

Mario could've easily jumped up and grabbed the crystal ball from her, but he decided to let The Pink Wonder win. Why he did that; even he didn't know. Maybe he wanted Peach to actually learn to defend herself more often. She _did _rescue him and Luigi from Bowser once, but he wanted Peach to know how to fight bad guys without using the power of emotions. Of course, he didn't know about her frying pan yet, but a cooking utensil wasn't exactly breaking the female stereotype of weaponry either.

So, Peach looked deep into the crystal ball and followed where the pulsing took her. Before they could go anywhere, the voice of Bowser sounded behind them,

"A little help here!" The heroes turned around to see Bowser, still flipped over on the ground. Mario forgot that Bowser was still a Koopa, and still weak against being flipped over. O'Chunks helped the Koopa King get up, who in turn pushed O'Chunks to the ground again. The Scottish brute jumped up and began wrestling Bowser, until The Pink Wonder screamed,

"Hey you two muscle-heads! Be quiet; we don't want Shadoo to know where we are!" Bowser replied,

"Shadoo probably doesn't even know we're after her! She took that Light Prognosticus from Doopliss, not from us!" Peach responded,

"But he may have mentioned the book being ours! And you know that Shadoo hates us – she tried to kill us, after all. Hmn…that's probably why she took the Light Prognosticus from him in the first place! To get us to follow her!" Luigi asked,

"S-So she may have a trap waiting for us?" Peach said,

"Exactly! What, are you scared of a little trap?"

Peach laughed as she pressed onward, alongside Mario, who felt uncomfortable letting Peach lead their way into a potential Shadoo Setup. Bowser and O'Chunks, of course, didn't want to look scared, so they strutted right behind them. Luigi was trailing behind the others, not in favor of Peach's new attitude or their new mission. The only other hero not eagerly racing towards danger was Mimi, who noticed Luigi walking by his lonesome and walked beside him. Luigi didn't scooch away until Mimi looked at him and parted her hair.

While the heroes were carefully moving in their double-file line, their target was far ahead of them. Shadoo was still in the Ancient Forest, this time taking the form of Merlon. Not the Merlon from back in Flipside, but the original Merlon that sentenced her into the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials. She used this ancient form because the original Merlon was the original owner of the crystal ball. Copying that form gave Shadoo access to a shadowy version of a crystal ball, just like copiers of Peach have access to her parasol. She checked how far away Doopliss was from her: pretty far. She thought,

"This form should be useful to me...at least that blasted Merlon gave me this form to use _before_ Shadoo was imprisoned. But now Shadoo is free, and if I get Doopliss to copy me, I'll be free as well. No one besides Dimentio knows the secret result of Doopliss copying Shadoo, and I believe he's been killed by those pesky Heroes of Light. I heard that the heroes destroyed some dark being of the Dark Prognosticus, and that must be Dimentio. Finally! I'm glad I escaped from the Pit shortly before Dimentio was killed and the white light filled the worlds; I would have needed Dimentio to be out of the picture before trying to get Doopliss to copy me. And I'm tired of waiting."

She continued walking, using the crystal ball to locate something, or someone, or someplace. Fortunately for her, this Merlon was much stronger physically than the Merlon in Flipside. She observed,

"This wizard has walked great lengths in his day. Wizards, especially fortune tellers, don't typically include physical exercise as part of their regimen. But this one walked for many a year. I know that he was the adoptive son of Marloo, that fool, but I never saw him once. I remember his father claimed to have created me, and demanded that I serve him. Though Marloo was killed and I watched over that ancient tribe for years, I never met his son until having this body. I only recognized Merlon by his picture in Marloo's home...speaking of which…"

At this point, Shadoo had finally found what he had used the crystal ball to find. She stood on a hill, towering over a destroyed city, a civilization abandoned long ago. Every building was decayed to the point of rubble; except for one, a dome-shaped structure that stood erect in the dead center. Excluding the dome, moss and rust spread across the landscape, eating away at every scrap of plant life that existed there. Fungus and the few plants remaining were the only life forms that the ruins had to offer. Shadoo said,

"At last, I have found it. The Tribe of Ancients."

**Author's Note**: Long after the planning of my fanfiction, I discovered that Yold Town was actually built over where the Tribe of Ancients was. This conflicted with a major component of my fanfiction, as the ruins of the Tribe of Ancients (or the Ancient Ruins) will play an important part of the Mario storyline. So please pretend that Yold Town was built in some random location. Sorry for the inaccuracy


End file.
